Israel’s far-right finance minister says his country is “thoroughly changing the way we are running the Gaza war and is preparing hell for Hamas”.
Bezalel Smotrich, who is also leader of the Religious Zionist party, called for Israel to take over “the entire civil management of the Gaza Strip” and said humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the coastal enclave would be cut to the minimum required under humanitarian law when Donald Trump became US president on January 20th.
“The Gaza war should end with Hamas not existing any more,” he said. “We need to stay in Gaza for a very long time. We need to stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation’.”
His comments followed fresh warnings this week from Mr Trump that “all hell will break out” in the Middle East if the hostages held in Gaza are not released by his inauguration. “It will not be good for Hamas, and frankly, it will not be good for anyone,” he said.
Mr Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is joining the ongoing talks in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal, but despite reports of progress it is unlikely that a breakthrough will be reached before January 20th.
“There is a breakthrough when it comes to narrowing old existing gaps, but there is no deal yet,” a Palestinian official said.
At least 23 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Thursday. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported that more than 46,000 people have been killed since the start of the war on October 7th, 2023. According to the ministry’s estimates, more than 10,000 people are still buried under collapsed buildings. Up to 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas-led attack on October 7th and 250 kidnapped and taken to Gaza, according to Israel.
Hundreds on Thursday attended the funeral of Youssef Alziadana, the Israeli Bedouin hostage who was killed in captivity and whose body was recovered from a Hamas tunnel in Rafah on Wednesday. The Israel Defense Forces said he may have been killed in an air strike, as the bodies of Palestinian fighters were also found. There is a high probability that his son, Hamza, was also killed, based on evidence retrieved from the tunnel.
[ Israeli strikes ‘kill dozens’ in Gaza amid stepped up ceasefire pushOpens in new window ]
The recovery of Alziadana’s body brings to 30 the number of hostages abducted alive and killed in captivity. Only eight have been rescued alive; 99 hostages remain in Gaza, 36 of whom have been declared dead. Seven of the hostages hold US citizenship.
Funerals were held on Thursday for another three soldiers who were killed in Gaza on Wednesday when a bomb was detonated under their tank in northern Gaza.
Despite the Israeli assertion that Hamas has been defeated and is capable now of launching only relatively small-scale, guerrilla-style actions, every week brings more Israel fatalities, leading to growing demands to end the war.
A group of 837 parents of soldiers currently serving or who have served in the Gaza Strip, sent a letter to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu demanding an end to the war and the return of all hostages through a deal.
“The IDF has no reason to remain in Gaza, other than fulfilling messianic settlement wishes,” the letter read. “We will not allow you to continue sacrificing our children as cannon fodder.” The group said it would organise anti-war protests in the coming days.
Pope Francis criticised Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, describing the humanitarian situation as “very serious and shameful”. In an address to diplomats, he condemned civilian bombings and the freezing deaths of children due to destroyed hospitals and energy infrastructure.
