Its finance minister Israel Bezalel Smotric today asked the government of August 28th to begin the annexation of the Gaza Strip, as long as the Hamas continues to refuse to deposit arms.
The far -right politician, who opposes Israel’s agreement with Hamas to end the war, presented his plan “to win in Gaza before the end of the year”, at a press conference in Jerusalem.
He suggested that he be sent an ultimatum to Hamas to deposit the weapons and release the hostages who were abducted on October 7, 2023 and remain captive to the Palestinian enclave.
If Hamas refuses, Smotrich believes that Israel should attach a portion of the enclave each week, for four weeks, so that in the end it is under its control almost all the lane.
According to Smotric, the Palestinians should initially move to the southern strip of Gaza and Israel besiege the central and northern part, to defeat Hamas fighters who are still there, then proceeding to the annexation.
“This could be done within three to four months,” he calculated, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to immediately adopt this plan as a whole.”
The Israeli army is conducting operations to control the city of Gaza, the largest urban center in the northern pocket, despite international concerns about the fate of civilians living there.
The United Nations estimates that almost all Gazaians, more than two million people, were displaced at least once due to battles and bombings, after the war began in October 2023.
Today, hundreds of city residents have left the coastal road heading south, according to a French agency photojournalist who saw the crowd in the Nussirat area.