Skip to main content
Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza

Israeli far-right minister says retrieving Israeli captives not top priority

Israeli far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday told a local radio station that bringing home the Israeli captives in Gaza is not the top priority. 

“Bringing the hostages home is important, but it’s not the most important goal,” Smotrich said, according to a report in The Washington Post. “The alternative to surrender is seizing the territory in the Gaza Strip and destroying Hamas.”

He added that Israel should use US President Donald Trump's time in office to retake Gaza and expel all of its residents.