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LAST UPDATE | 6 May 2025
ISRAEL’S FINANCE MINISTER has said that a victory for his country in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas means the Gaza Strip will be “entirely destroyed”.
Bezalel Smotrich, one of the more extreme far-right members of the ruling coalition government, also said that civilians in Gaza would be sent to “a humanitarian zone” in the south of the besieged territory “without Hamas or terrorism”.
“From there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” he told a conference in the Israeli settlement of Ofra in the occupied West Bank.
Such a move, which aligns with plans put forward by US President Donald Trump, would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank, also expressed his hope that the territory would be formally annexed during the current government’s term, which could last until late next year.
Hamas has today said ceasefire talks with Israel are pointless, given the ongoing siege.
“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” senior Hamas official Naim told AFP.
The former Gaza health minister said the world must pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the “crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings”.
Yesterday, Israel’s military said expanded operations in Gaza would include increased displacement, after the country’s security cabinet approved a plan that an Israeli official said will entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories”.
Israel’s decision comes as the United Nations and aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming after more than two months of a total Israeli blockade.
Nearly all of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once during the war.
Today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the Israeli siege of Gaza, where no aid has entered for the last nine weeks, saying “this behaviour clearly constitutes a war crime”.
Families of the hostages who remain in Gaza have condemned the government’s decision to ramp up its offensive in the territory, accusing leaders of “sacrificing” their loved ones.
In late April, Smotrich said: “We have to say the truth, returning the hostages is not the most important thing.”
Smotrich also called the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, “one of the most important challenges” for the Israeli leadership.
Smotrich has been a prominent supporter of the creation and expansion of settlements in the area, all of which are illegal under international law.
Earlier today, France and China strongly condemned Israel’s planned “conquest” of Gaza, which they said would involve moving out most of the population.
“It’s unacceptable,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a radio interview, adding the Israeli government was “in violation of humanitarian law.”
China also said it opposed Israel’s latest military actions.
“China is highly concerned about the current Palestine-Israel situation,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
“We oppose Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza, and hopes all parties continuously and effectively implement the ceasefire agreement.”
The European Union has called for restraint from Israel, as did Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris, who described the plans as “alarming”.
“Such a move would result in further deaths, casualties and untold suffering for the Palestinian population who already face a dire humanitarian situation,” Harris said in a statement this afternoon.
He added: “What is happening to the people of Gaza is despicable and unconscionable. This is a humanitarian catastrophe.
“We need to see an immediate cessation of hostilities, release of remaining hostages and the resumption of humanitarian aid at scale into Gaza.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said today that she told her Israeli counterpart in a call that the situation in Gaza is “untenable” and aid deliveries must restart now.
“Humanitarian aid must resume immediately and should never be politicised. The new aid delivery mechanism should run through humanitarian actors,” Kallas wrote on X.
On 18 March, Israel breached a ceasefire between its military and Hamas and resumed strikes on Gaza – killing more than 2,600 people in the weeks since, many of them women and children, according to local health officials.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza – following Hamas’ attack on the country in October 2023 – has killed at least 52,535 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry.
With reporting from AFP
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