Elon Musk visited Israel at the personal invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; offers to rebuild Gaza

Elon Musk visited Southern Israel on Monday at the personal invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He toured an Israeli kibbutz that had been left desolate by the October 7 Hamas terror raids.

Musk’s visit took place just days after a ceasefire was brokered between Israel and Hamas, occurring on the last day of a four-day agreed-upon truce. There are reports suggesting a possible extension of the truce by at least two more days for additional hostage releases and the freeing of more Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

During his visit to Kfar Aza, Musk received details from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops about the massacres in the kibbutz, one of over 20 communities ravaged, with entire families being tragically affected. Later in the day, Musk said it was “it was jarring to see the scene of the massacre.”

Musk also heard personal stories of tragedy and heroism, including the heartbreaking account of Avigail Idan, a kidnapped Israeli-American toddler. Avigail turned 4 while in captivity but was released on Sunday as part of the third round of a hostage swap between Hamas and Israel. Tragically, her parents were murdered right before her eyes, and reports indicate that her dad was holding her when he was shot.

After watching a short film about the Hamas attacks, Musk said that it was “troubling to see the joy experienced by people that were killing innocent civilians.”

As part of his visit, Musk and Prime Minister Netanyahu held a live talk via X Spaces (formerly known as Twitter Spaces), during which the prime minister reiterated his call for the destruction of Hamas. Musk responded, “There’s no choice,” and said after touring ravaged kibbutzes: “I’d like to help as well.”

Below is the full exchange:

During the conversation, Netanyahu said that his main focus was to neutralize Hamas before initiating the rebuilding of Gaza, stating, “You first have to get rid of this poisonous regime.” Musk agreed and expressed his willingness to be involved in the post-war recovery.

“I think it makes perfect sense that those intent on murder must be neutralized first. Then the propaganda must stop, and we can work on making Gaza prosperous,” Musk said.

Netanyahu welcomed Musk’s offer, saying, “Well, I hope you’ll be involved.” Musk responded saying, “I’d love to help.”

In remarks that may spark controversy, especially among pro-Palestinian groups, Musk stated that civilian casualties are “unavoidable,” which seemed to align with Israel’s stance, which also suggested that Musk might be backing Isreal’s position that it is making efforts to minimize civilian harm while focusing on targeting terrorists.

Recently, Israeli officials have attempted controversial historical comparisons to WWII, a move that has faced criticism in Western media discussions. This occurs at a time when the Palestinian death toll has tragically reached the grim milestone of 15,000. Commenting on the topic, Musk shared his perspective during the Spaces chat, stating:

“You need to pair firmness with taking out the terrorists and those intent on murder, and at the same time help those that remain, which is what happened in Germany and Japan.”

He continued, “Usually, the victor punishes the loser,” pointing to the post-World War II rehabilitation of Germany and Japan by the Allies as examples. Musk highlighted how reconstruction efforts after a significant war and a clear-cut victory played a crucial role in establishing lasting peace.

Below is a video of Musk’s visit to Israel.