The far-right minister’s comments came amid an intense Israeli offensive in northern Gaza over the past month that has seen tens of thousands of Gazans displaced, as troops attack Hamas. They also came on the heels of dire warnings that the hostages who remain alive, some 13 months into their captivity, may not survive another winter.
“In order to return the hostages, we need to occupy the entire northern Gaza Strip, and inform Hamas unequivocally that if the hostages are not returned home safe and sound, we will apply Israeli sovereignty there and remain forever, and Gaza will lose a third of its territory,” Smotrich told reporters in the Knesset, ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting. He maintained that the threat would give Hamas the motivation to keep the hostages alive. (Read More)
