Netanyahu’s Gaza strategy will not defeat Hamas, says gov’t minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “succumbed to weakness” with plan to temporarily occupy Gaza City and avoid full conquest of Strip, charges Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

By World Israel News Staff

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an upcoming IDF plan to temporarily occupy Gaza City, warning that a partial takeover of the Strip would not lead to a decisive victory over Hamas.

In a bombshell statement released Saturday evening, the Religious Zionism party leader said he had “lost faith that the prime minister is able and wants to lead the IDF to a decisive victory.”

Smotrich accused Netanyahu of caving to pressure and abandoning the goal of a full-scale military conquest of Gaza — a plan that, in the minister’s view, would include Israel annexing large swathes of Gazan territory and encouraging mass migration of Gazans out of the Strip.

Instead, Smotrich charged, Netanyahu is using an incursion into Gaza City as a tactic to pressure Hamas into returning to negotiations, with the aim of securing another partial deal.

Smotrich said such a deal would see some, but not all, hostages freed, while allowing Hamas time to regroup and rearm — prolonging the war without achieving true victory.

Netanyahu “succumbed to weakness, let emotion win over reason and decided to do more of the same again,” Smotrich said.

The proposed temporary incursion into Gaza City “is not how you win a war,” he continued, calling it an “immoral and illogical folly” that risks the lives of both soldiers and hostages for an incomplete operation.

Smotrich added that while he had previously accepted cabinet decisions he disagreed with in order to preserve unity during wartime, he could no longer remain silent.

“Unfortunately, for the first time since the war began, I feel that I simply cannot stand behind this decision and support it,” he concluded. “My conscience does not allow it.”

Notably, Smotrich stopped short of specifying what action he would take if Netanyahu proceeds with the plan.

He did not indicate in the video — nor did his spokespeople tell Hebrew-language media — that he would resign from the government, which could trigger new elections.