The mayor of Khan Younis, a senior Hamas official, called on the terrorist organization he is part of to halt the war.

Alaa El-Din Al-Batta published a post calling “to “remove Israel’s arguments for continuing the war in Gaza,” citing the heavy daily toll on the Strip.

Al-Batta wrote, “Today is better than tomorrow, and tomorrow is better than the day after. Israel’s arguments for the war on Gaza are the hostages and Hamas’s weapons.”

Popular Israeli blogger Abu Ali Express noted that “his words are striking and surprising given his status as a senior Hamas official and in light of the fact that for months he has remained silent on the matter. Khan Younis has long been considered a Hamas stronghold, and the mayor is certainly part of Hamas’s senior leadership in the Gaza Strip.”

“His remarks are resonating among Hamas’s opponents both in Gaza and abroad.”

Last week, Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), revealed the hypocritical attempts of senior Hamas officials who submitted requests to Israel to transfer their family members to a third country. One of them was Alaa El-Din Al-Batta.

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)