Live Updates: Israel’s Gaza invasion – Day 692
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called on the government to begin annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if Hamas stands by its refusal to lay down its weapons, AFP reports.
The far-right minister, who has vocally opposed striking a deal with Hamas to end the conflict, presented his plan to “win in Gaza by the end of the year” at a press conference in Jerusalem.
Under Smotrich’s proposal, Hamas would be given an ultimatum to surrender, disarm and release the hostages still held in Gaza since the group’s October 2023 attack that triggered the fighting.
If Hamas refuses, Smotrich said Israel should annexe a section of the territory each week for four weeks, bringing most of the Gaza Strip under full Israeli control.
According to Smotrich, Palestinians would first be told to move south in Gaza, followed by Israel imposing a siege on the territory’s north and centre to defeat any remaining Hamas fighters there, and ending with annexation.
“This can be achieved in three to four months,” he said.
