Senior IDF officer: Hamas showing ‘signs of breaking’ after 22,000 targets in Gaza struck, Netanyahu: Surrender of ‘dozens’ of Hamas terrorists a sign of ‘the beginning of the end’

IDF: 22,000 Hamas targets struck in Gaza since start of war, 3,500 since end of truce

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday

Netanyahu: Surrender of ‘dozens’ of Hamas terrorists a sign of ‘the beginning of the end’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to Israeli forces in recent days, which he says shows the failure of Hamas and its fight against Israel.

“In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered before our forces. They put down their weapons and turn themselves over to our brave fighters,” Netanyahu says in a video statement.

“It will take more time, the war is still in full force, but this is the beginning of the end of Hamas,” he adds. “I say to the terrorists of Hamas: It’s over. Don’t die for [Yahya] Sinwar. Surrender — now.”

Government approves NIS 18 billion five-year plan to rehabilitate Gaza border area

The government approves a NIS 18 billion plan to rebuild, rehabilitate, and restore the Gaza border communities destroyed in Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel.

The framework, known as “Tekuma,” funded from 2024-2028, will be guided by a plan that will be published within 100 days and will “enable the strengthening of the region for local authorities, communities, families, residents, and the entire State of Israel,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a statement that “we are building and rehabilitating our communities… we are dealing not only with rebuilding of the communities, the towns, the kibbutzes, but also the goal of causing them to prosper and flourish for generations to come,” including providing assistance to evacuees are investing in education, employment, welfare, agriculture, business and other areas.

Blinken defends bypassing Congress to sell weapons to Israel

Hamas: Not a single hostage will leave Gaza alive unless our demands are met

Hamas warns that not a single hostage will leave the Gaza Strip alive unless the group’s demands are met.

“Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership… nor its supporters… can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance,” Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, says in a televised broadcast.

Thousands march against antisemitism in downtown Berlin

Blinken: Israel, not US, will make decision on end of its war against Hamas

Senior IDF officer: Hamas showing ‘signs of breaking’ after 22,000 targets in Gaza struck

A senior IDF officer says that in recent days the military has identified “signs of Hamas breaking” in the Gaza Strip, as it continues its offensive against the terror group.

“The extent of the destruction and damage creates command and control problems [for Hamas]. There are areas in the Gaza Strip that Hamas no longer controls militarily,” the officer says.

“Despite the achievements, we are not close to the end of the fighting. We continue to operate with great intensity, and work to dismantle entire battalions of Hamas,” he says, adding that about half of the 24 Hamas battalion commanders have been eliminated in airstrikes and other operations.

The military estimates that some 7,000 Hamas operatives have been killed in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF in a statement says it has struck more than 22,000 targets in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, 3,500 of them since the end of the ceasefire on December 1.

The strikes were carried out by the Air Force, Navy and ground troops.

The targets have included Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels, weapons depots, command centers, and rocket launchers, as well as terror operatives.

The IDF says it is currently battling Hamas in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, Shejaiya, and Beit Hanoun, and in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.