Israel is “at a crossroads” in its war against Hamas and must decide whether to reinvade Gaza to defeat the terror group or enable it to remain in power, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Smotrich’s comments came hours before the National Security Council, of which he is a member, convened Monday night at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv to determine Israel’s position regarding phase two of the hostage deal.
“Today, I will demand at the cabinet meeting to vote and adopt [US] President [Donald] Trump’s plan. Israel must set a clear ultimatum for Hamas: return all the hostages to us now, leave Gaza for other countries, and disarm,” he said in a press conference ahead of his Religious Zionist Party’s weekly meeting at the Knesset.
If Hamas does not respond to the ultimatum, Israel will “open the gates of hell,” he said.
“A full conquest of the Gaza Strip, complete cessation of aid, no water, no electricity, no fuel, moving the entire population to Mawasi [in the south], and from there, Israel will immediately begin the emigration of Gaza residents to other countries, annex the northern Strip, the ridge that controls Sderot and the surrounding communities, and the security perimeter, including the Philadelphi Corridor,” the finance minister said.
“It’s either us or them. Either we defeat Hamas – or God forbid, Hamas will defeat us,” Smotrich said.
In response to reporters’ questions, he revealed that work was ongoing behind the scenes to plan and carry out Trump’s proposal.
The opposition speak up
Politicians from the opposition, at their own press conferences earlier on Monday, called to continue with the hostage deal.
“Five hundred days have passed since October 7,” Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid said. “Five hundred days in which Idan [Alexander], Matan [Zangauker], and Omer [Shem Tov] are in hell. Eliya [Cohen], Tal [Shoham], and Alon [Ohel] are wounded, bound, and beaten underground.”
Lapid said this cannot continue.
“We must move to phase two of the deal and shorten the time as much as possible. Go all the way. Until the last hostage returns. Some will return home to their loved ones, some to eternal rest,” Lapid said.
National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz said, “I ask that you be quiet for a minute. Think about how this minute turns into an hour and then into a day, and now try to think about 500 days, and in 500 days, we have lost over 30 living hostages. For many of the living hostages today – this is the last opportunity.
“Their fate will be decided between life and death, and decisions will be made in the coming weeks. We cannot wait for the thousandth day. We must harness all levers of pressure, all means, and also be ready for painful concessions and bring them home – until the last hostage.
“Did we have to wait 500 days for Trump to deal with the day after in Gaza? Did we have to wait 500 days to harness the Arab world? Instead of the State of Israel initiating and pushing for the return of the hostages and the replacement of Hamas – we find ourselves waiting for the US and Arab countries to push us.
“After the first few months of the war, we did not take advantage of the opportunities created by the military pressure to replace the Hamas regime and return our hostages as we demanded,” Gantz said.
“Today it is clear – when we said over a year ago that it is possible to suspend the fighting to return the hostages and then eliminate the Hamas regime – we were right. If we had done this a year ago, we could now be deep into the ‘day after’ process in Gaza and, together with the US administration and Arab countries – create a different reality.
“The price we paid for the slow prolongation of the war is enormous – in human lives, the economy, and Israeli society. The important thing is that we do not repeat the mistakes – we need to do it now. Return the hostages to the last one and move on,” he continued.
“I want to emphasize one issue that is not talked about enough in the ‘day after’ initiatives. In any situation, in any plan, the IDF needs to operate wherever Hamas is found. The law of Khan Yunis is like the law of Jenin. This is our promise to the residents of the south, and we must stand by it.”