Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that a military victory in Gaza is more important than securing the release of Israeli hostages, Haaretz reports. Speaking on the right-wing Galei Israel radio station, Smotrich said that releasing the hostages is “not the most important goal.” Rather: “We need to eliminate the Gaza problem.”
He argued that Israel now has a “tremendous opportunity” to act decisively, stating: “There’s no Biden, no [Defense Minister] Gallant, Gantz, or Eisenkot—we must storm Gaza and end the problem, and prove to the whole world and the people of Israel that there is a military solution to terror.”
He also criticized IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi for permitting humanitarian aid into Gaza and dismissed the idea of a negotiated hostage deal as a form of surrender to a “terrorist organization.”
