Underwear-clad Hamas terrorists surrender to Israeli forces in Rafah

Israeli forces apprehended Hamas terrorists who surrendered in the Shaboura neighborhood of Rafah, according to military footage released Tuesday.Among those captured were a Hamas platoon commander who participated in the Oct.7, 2023, massacre and was involved in the holding of Israeli hostages, as well as a sniper unit commander.

Several knives were reportedly found in their possession.The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) obtained significant intelligence during the subsequent interrogations, including the location of a major Hamas terror site in the area.The arrests came after the IDF completed its encirclement of Rafah several weeks ago.Military operations in the city are ongoing and are expected to expand into additional neighborhoods.To date, the 188th Brigade’s combat team has eliminated dozens of terrorists and uncovered and destroyed multiple Hamas weapons caches and other infrastructure.Likud MK Tally Gotliv on Tuesday expressed frustration over stalled hostage negotiations and voiced support for the government’s recent military decisions.“The Israeli government gave Hamas every opportunity to return all of our hostages, both living and deceased,” Gotliv told JNS.

“But Hamas has entrenched itself in cruelty and rejected every proposal put forward during the negotiations.”She welcomed the Cabinet’s recent decision to expand military operations in Gaza, calling it “timely.”“The vote came not only in response to the intensification of military action against our enemy but also as a step toward enforcing military rule, including the occupation of areas in Gaza,” she said.“This is the way to subdue the murderous terrorist organization Hamas and to secure the return of all our hostages.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Monday that the IDF operation in Gaza will intensify, and Israeli forces will remain in every area they capture.“We decided on intensified action in Gaza,” the premier said.

“That was the IDF chief...