Hamas invites Elon Musk to visit Gaza, 'be objective' after trip to Israel

Hamas invited US billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday to visit Gaza and see the devastation caused by Israel's bombardment of the Palestinian territory that has so far killed more than 15,000 people.

A senior official from the Palestinian group that controls Gaza made the call after Musk went to Israel on Monday.

"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," Hamas' Osama Hamdan said in a press conference in Beirut.

Hamdan's comments came one day after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for an additional 48 hours. The truce agreed last week was the first halt in the onslaught on Gaza since it began on 7 October.

"Within 50 days, Israel dropped more than 40,000 tonnes of explosives on the homes of defenceless Gazans," Hamdan said.

"I call on US President Biden to review the US relationship with Israel and to stop supplying them with weapons."

Musk on Monday toured the site of Hamas' attack on Israel conducted on 7 October. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed and about 200 taken hostage in the offensive.

The social media mogul caused outrage on the visit by saying that people in Gaza needed to be "re-educated" after being "fed propaganda since they were children".

"They will think that the murder of innocent people is a good thing. That is how much propaganda can affect people’s minds," Musk said of the Palestinians living in the territory.

Speaking on Israel's destruction of Gaza, Hamdan called on the international community to quickly send specialised civil defence teams to help retrieve the thousands of bodies still trapped under the rubble.

(Reuters)