Deal reported to involve release of 33 Israeli hostages alongside a partial Israeli troop withdrawal
Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has previously spoken of his desire for Israel to permanently annex the occupied West Bank, has said the country is at a “crucial and fateful time”.
In a statement on social media, Smotrich said:
We are at a crucial and fateful time for the security, future and existence of the State of Israel. What stands before me is only one thing, and I am concerned with it with all my heart and soul, and that is how to achieve the full goals of the war – complete victory, the total destruction of Hamas, both military and civilian, and the return of all our hostages home.
Naturally and as is my custom in these moments, I do these things quietly, in closed rooms, in a very matter-of-fact, serious, incisive and profound discourse. The only thing that concerns me is how to win, how to destroy Hamas, how to bring all our hostages home. I will not rest or be silent until these goals are achieved.