An Israeli minister has said Palestinians should ‘go to Ireland or the deserts’ and that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is an option, as the Israel-Hamas war enters its fifth week.
Heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu of the Otzma Yehudit party is quoted by the Times of Israel as saying in an interview that the Palestinian people “can go to Ireland or deserts, the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves”, adding that those who wave a Palestinian or Hamas flag “shouldn’t continue living on the face of the earth”.
It quotes him saying that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip “is one of the possibilities”, and that humanitarian aid to the population should be restricted, saying “we wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid. There is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza.”
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has sought to distance himself from the minister’s comments.
AP is reporting Mr Netanyahu has suspended Mr Eliyahu from cabinet meetings until further notice. Mr Netanyahu earlier said on social media his remarks were “divorced from reality”. It notes that the move to suspend Mr Eliyahu has no practical effect, as he was not a member of the decision-making war cabinet formed in the wake of the Hamas October 7th surprise attack inside Israel.
Asked about Mr Eliyahu’s comments, the Israeli embassy in Dublin said: “The minister’s comments do not represent the views of the Israeli government, and he was suspended from government meetings. Israel is currently fighting Hamas in order to bring back the hostages and eliminate the threat from Hamas on our population.”
The country’s defence minister Yoav Gallant also criticised Mr Eliyahu, saying: “It’s a good thing that people like this are not in charge of Israel’s security.”
Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians in Gaza to seek refuge as it focuses its military offensive in the northern areas.
Despite such appeals, Israel has continued its bombardment across the territory, saying it is targeting Hamas fighters and assets everywhere and accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Israel claims it has struck “over 2,500 terror targets” in war on Hamas.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has put the death toll from what it says were Israeli airstrikes on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza at 33 or more, with 42 wounded. – Guardian