"No aid will reach Hamas. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is simply lying," Religious Zionist Party chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during a press conference on Monday.
In his statement following the cabinet's decision to renew aid into Gaza later on Sunday night, Smotrich said that aid "will not reach Hamas.
"It will allow civilians to eat, our friends around the world to continue providing us with an international protection umbrella at the Security Council and The Hague, and us to keep fighting, God willing, until victory."
"For two and a half months, we did not allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, creating enormous pressure on Hamas — and rightly so. But pressure must be managed so it doesn’t explode on us." He said.
He continued, "When the IDF resumed full efforts to conquer Gaza, moving civilians from areas with some remaining food, our great friends worldwide — those who support us and understand that we cannot stop just before complete victory and Hamas’s destruction — asked us to help them help us dispel starvation claims. We must do so. Without this, we cannot fight and win. This is not surrendering to pressure, but doing the right thing to stay focused on the main goal: destroying Hamas."
Hamas will not receive any aid coming into Gaza
He continued, "This may not be popular in the base or politically profitable. It is far easier to shout and compete over who is more right-wing or tougher. But from day one of the war, I put all politics aside. When my brothers risk their lives in war, I don’t play politics. I am even willing not to be re-elected for the sake of victory."