A senior official from Hamas extended an invitation to U.S. billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, urging him to visit the Palestinian Gaza strip and witness the extensive destruction caused by Israeli bombardment.
“We invite him to visit Gaza to see the extent of the massacres and destruction committed against the people of Gaza, in compliance with the standards of objectivity and credibility,” stated Hamas’ senior official Osama Hamdan during a press conference in Beirut.
Elon Musk, the billionaire and social media figure recently criticized for endorsing an anti-Jewish post, toured the site of the Hamas assault on Israel on Monday. Musk, who owns the X social media platform, declared his commitment to doing whatever was necessary to halt the spread of hatred.
Hamdan’s comments came a day after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for an additional 48 hours.
“Within 50 days, Israel dropped more than 40,000 tonnes of explosives on the homes of defenseless Gazans,” Hamdan stated. He also called on U.S. President Biden to review the U.S. relationship with Israel and cease the supply of weapons.
Addressing the extensive destruction in Gaza since the conflict began on Oct. 7, Hamdan urged the international community to quickly dispatch specialized civil defense teams to help retrieve bodies still trapped under the rubble. Thousands are reportedly still trapped, according to the Palestinian foreign ministry.
The truce, agreed upon last week, marked the first cessation of fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, resulting in 1,200 casualties and the capture of around 240 hostages back into Gaza, as per Israeli reports.
In response to the attack, Israel launched airstrikes on the enclave and initiated a ground offensive in the north. Palestinian health officials claim at least 16,000 Palestinians have been killed, with hundreds of thousands displaced.
