Tel Aviv [Israel], August 29 : Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to annexe the Gaza Strip if Hamas refuses to disarm, Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Smotrich said that if Hamas does not agree to surrender, disarm and release Israeli captives, "Israel should annexe a section of Gaza each week for four weeks."
He explained that Palestinians would first be told to move south in Gaza, after which Israel would impose a siege on the territory's north and centre before ending with annexation. "This can be achieved in three to four months," Smotrich said, adding that these measures were part of a plan to "win in Gaza by the end of the year," according to Al Jazeera.
The remarks came as the Israeli army advanced deeper into Gaza City in an attempt to seize the area and displace nearly one million Palestinians living there. The military escalation has been widely condemned, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning last week that Israel's campaign would cause "massive death and destruction," Al Jazeera reported.
Gaza continues to face extreme shortages of food, water and other humanitarian supplies as Israel maintains its blockade. "Famine is no longer a looming possibility; it's a present-day catastrophe," Guterres said on Thursday. "People are dying of hunger. Families are being torn apart by displacement and despair. Pregnant women are facing unimaginable risks, and the systems that sustain life - food, water, healthcare - have been systematically dismantled."
Hamas strongly rejected Smotrich's remarks, saying they represent "an official call to exterminate our people" and "an official admission of the use of starvation and siege against innocent civilians as a weapon."
"Smotrich's statement is not an isolated extremist opinion, but rather a declared government policy that has been implemented for nearly 23 months," Hamas said in a statement quoted by Al Jazeera. The group added that such comments "expose the reality of the occupation to the world and confirm that what is happening in Gaza is not a 'military battle' but rather a project of genocide and mass displacement."
Smotrich urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt his annexation plan "in full immediately." Netanyahu has not commented publicly on the proposal but has previously suggested that Israel could "take control of all Gaza" and reoccupy the enclave, Al Jazeera reported.