Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that starving more than 2 million people in Gaza could be the right and moral step until all Israelis held hostage by Hamas are released. Haaretz informed of.
Smotrich, who is from the right-wing Religious Zionist Party, lamented the fact that “the world will not allow Israel” to starve Gazans.
“Nobody will allow us to starve two million civilians, even if it is just and moral, until our hostages are returned,” Smotrich said at the Caitif annual conference.
Speaking about Israel’s decision to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, he claimed that a deal with Hamas would “endanger Israel” and that only a small number of hostages would return.
“We have a responsibility, we want to bring the hostages back, but the agreement will only allow a small number of hostages to be brought back and most of them will remain confined in Gaza,” Smotrich was quoted as saying. Haaretz,
He said the current agreement with Hamas “erodes the achievements of the war”, allowing the Palestinian military group to “recover quickly”.
The right-wing minister also said Israeli protesters who are demanding the government reach a hostage deal with Hamas are “irresponsible” and said they have “undermined” Israel’s position in the war with “reckless demonstrations.”
He further said that the November 2023 hostage deal with Hamas was not a “good deal”, but he supported it because it was “fair” at the time.
According to Israeli figures, more than 1,200 people have been killed and more than 250 hostages taken since the war began with Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
The Israeli military operation in Gaza has killed 39,550 Palestinians, including combatants and civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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