Humanitarian aid issue 'more serious' than 7 October attacks: Smotrich

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the issue of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the Israeli army’s denial of responsibility towards its distribution are two issues that are “more serious” than the failures that led to the 7 October attacks.

"There's a meeting with the defence minister today about the humanitarian aid [going into Gaza], and the IDF will take responsibility for ensuring its distribution in a way that prevents it from reaching Hamas," he said in an interview with the Israeli Army Radio on Monday.

After his remarks, Smotrich requested to clarify on air that he did not intend to make a comparison between the two issues and the 7 October attacks, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.