‘We came to the decision we don’t want to fight, & as soon as the army comes, we will turn ourselves in.’

In their own words, it appears the time has come for Hamas terrorists to throw in the towel. When Shin Bet asked Hamas Nukhba terror commander known as Abu al-Baraa during interrogation if he had a message for his fellow Hamas fighters, he said, “I recommend everyone surrender, your fate is death.”

Abu al-Baraa told Shin Bet that he and his troops intended to surrender when the IDF entered their tunnel in Khan Younis, even though they were armed with Kalashnikovs, RPGs, and improvised explosive devices. He told Shin Bet, “We came to the decision that we don’t want to fight and as soon as the army comes we will turn ourselves in.” Abu al-Baraa added, “We sat in the room, we put all the weapons outside, outside the room. And the army came and took all the weapons. We sat and waited. When the army arrived, we raised our hands and surrendered.”

Abu al-Baraa, also known as Mohammad Nasser Suliman Abu Namer, reportedly said that he joined Hamas’s military division in 2009. Shin Bet confirmed they caught Abu al-Baraa an other terrorists who were hiding in a tunnel in Khan Younis behind a reinforced door. “We will continue to act and strike at Hamas terrorists from above and below ground,” the Shin Bet said.

The IDF dismantled Hamas military capabilities in the north of Gaza earlier in the war and captured Hamas headquarters in Khan Younis before moving on to Rafah. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel aims to achieve nothing less than “total victory” in Hamas, and that he rejects any hostage deal that would require a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza.

According to an Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) survey, 60% of Israelis believe the war should continue until Hamas is eliminated, even if that means that not all of the hostages return.

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