'Three things that need to happen in Gaza...': Elon Musk to Israeli President after visiting kibbutz near Gaza

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is in Israel, met Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday and spoke to him about the aftermath of the war against Hamas. During the meeting, Musk said there was "no choice" but to kill Hamas terrorists who killed civilians. He called for a change in the education system so that the new generation of people are not "trained to be murderers" and build prosperity among people.

"I just had a talk with the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu). There are three things that need to happen in the Gaza situation. There’s no choice but to kill those who insist on murdering civilians. They're not going to change their mind," Musk told the Israeli President.

"The second thing is to change the education so that a new generation of murderers is not trained to be murderers. The third thing which is very important is to try to build prosperity," the Tesla CEO said.

Musk arrived in Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and victims of the October 7 Hamas atrocities, as well as the families of hostages. The billionaire, who has backed Israel in its fight against Hamas, started his visit by touring, along with Netanyahu, Kfar Aza - which was among the worst affected by the October 7 onslaught.

Speaking about his tour of Kfar Aza kibbutz, Musk termed it an "emotionally difficult" day for the families who lost their near and dear ones. He met with the families of the hostages held by Hamas during his meeting with the Israeli President. He was gifted a symbolic dog tag by the father of a hostage, with "our hearts are hostage in Gaza" engraved in it. In response, Musk said he would wear the dog tag "every day until your loved ones are released".

Rachel, an Israeli mother, showed Musk a video, on her phone, of her son being abducted by Hamas despite being badly injured.

Last week, Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the fighting for four days to ensure the release of hostages. Under the agreement, Hamas released 69 hostages while Israel freed around 150 Palestinian prisoners. On Monday, Qatar, which mediated the deal along with other parties, said the truce had been extended by two more days.  

Israel on Monday said it reached an agreement with Musk that SpaceX would provide Starlink satellite internet services in Gaza only with its approval.

Also read: More Israeli hostages, Palestinians expected to be freed with extended truce