Israeli minister Smotrich: Gaza will be completely destroyed

The far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said that Gaza will be completely destroyed, The Guardian reported.

Smotrich, who recently said that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza even if a deal is reached on the hostages, has stressed that he hopes the territory will be formally annexed during the current government’s term.

“Gaza will be completely destroyed, civilians will be sent south to a humanitarian zone without the presence of Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will begin to leave en masse to third countries,” he said during a conference in the occupied West Bank settlement of Ofra.

Israel approved plans on Monday to seize the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory indefinitely, two Israeli officials said. If implemented, the move would further expand Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory and is likely to provoke fierce international opposition. Israeli cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote, hours after Israel’s military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.