Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening to “give the order” to conquer Gaza and remove its citizens if Hamas did not comply with an ultimatum to return all of the remaining Israeli hostages before noon on Saturday.
“Mr. Prime Minister, I urge you, following such a moral, simple, and clear statement by President Trump, to inform Hamas unequivocally: either all the hostages are released by Saturday – no more phases, no more games, or the gates of hell will be opened on them,” the finance minister said in a video statement.
“This means no electricity, no water, no fuel, no humanitarian aid. There will only be the fire and brimstone of our planes, cannons, tanks, and our heroic soldiers. There will be a complete conquest of the Gaza Strip. All Gazans will be removed from the Strip in continuation of President Trump’s plan, territory will be taken, and sovereignty will be applied to it because this is the painful price our enemy understands.”
“Mr. Prime Minister, this is the only way to keep our hostages alive and bring them home as quickly as possible. We have all the international backing on this matter. Give the order,” Smotrich concluded.
The comments came after Netanyahu refrained from specifying the number of hostages he demanded that Hamas return on Saturday and only threatened that if Hamas did not return “our hostages,” the war would resume. Netanyahu’s remarks came in a video statement following a four-hour security cabinet meeting.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid responded on X/Twitter, “The Israeli government must bring everyone home. There is nothing as important. There is nothing as urgent. The hostages do not have time. Hamas is a despicable terror organization that will do anything to harm hostages and Israel. We have no expectations from Hamas.
“The responsibility lies with Netanyahu, who is again delaying, again harming the process, again abandoning the hostages. He doesn’t need to be afraid of Smotrich; he has a security net to bring them home,” Lapid concluded.
ממשלת ישראל חייבת להחזיר את כולם הביתה, אין דבר יותר חשוב מזה, אין דבר יותר דחוף מזה. אין לחטופים זמן.חמאס הוא ארגון טרור מתועב שיעשה הכל כדי לפגוע בחטופים ובישראל. אין לנו ציפיות מחמאס.האחריות היא על נתניהו ששוב מעכב, שוב פוגע בתהליך, שוב מפקיר את החטופים. הוא לא צריך לפחד…
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) February 11, 2025
Earlier on Tuesday, Smotrich said in a speech that Israel should “gather” all civilians of Gaza into one place and then “take them out [of Gaza] to a different future.” In his speech, given at a conference at the Institute for Haredi Strategy and Policy, Smotrich said that “for every one of our hostages who – God forbid – is harmed, we will impose sovereignty over five percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip. We have full backing from President Trump.”
National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz said at the same conference that “As I understand it, this ceasefire, at its core, is about the release of the hostages. And if the release of the hostages does not take place, then there is no reason for the ceasefire anyway. Therefore, the situation, as far as I am concerned, is binary. Either the hostages return, or we resume fighting. It’s that simple.”
He added that everyone must be returned, down to the last hostage, especially given that it is impossible to guarantee that those alive today will still be alive tomorrow.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen (Likud), a cabinet member, told Galei Israel Radio, “Anyone who thinks he can blackmail Israel with such and such tricks – it won’t happen. We adhere to Trump’s words about the release of all the hostages and embrace them. I actually see the fact that they are saying they will not abide by the agreement – this is already a violation of the deal.”
Labor Party chairman Yair Golan said, “transferring Gazans outside of the Strip is an idea that is anti-Judaism and anti-Zionism. It is imperative to stand against it and ensure that it does not become normalized.”
In response, the chairman of the ‘National Unity Party, Benny Gantz, said, “If someone emigrates voluntarily, I do not see anything inhumane in that.”
"We must not go backward"
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters condemned the flip-flopping: "Prime Minister, you made the decision to bring all our hostages home through an agreement. We must not go backwards. We cannot allow the hostages to waste away in captivity."
"As we all witnessed this past Saturday - time is running out for the hostages. The shocking events of recent days demonstrate the urgent need to accelerate the timeline, complete the full negotiations immediately, and bring back every last hostage with utmost urgency."
Reacting to the earlier Israeli statements that Israel does not necessarily expect all nine hostages who were set for release in the first phase to be freed on Saturday morning, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir said it was a "disagrace."
"The US President said if Hamas doesn't release *all* the hostages by Saturday, hell will fall on Gaza. The Israeli government said if *3* abductees are not returned on Saturday, "we will prepare for any scenario."
"President Trump gives the government the green light to rain fire and hell on Gaza if all our hostages are not released, and the government prefers to continue on its reckless path."
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told EU ambassadors that "If Hamas does not release the hostages, we will return to military operations and fighting."
"Today we discussed Hamas's announcement that it intends to violate the deal regarding the release of the hostages. Hamas's decision not to release the hostages means a decision to return to war."
"We are prepared for the possibility that Hamas may carry out an attack against Israel," he added.