Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that his country’s military is preparing to occupy the Gaza Strip under the leadership of newly appointed Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir in coordination with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Smotrich made the remarks during a speech at the start of a meeting of the Religious Zionist Party parliamentary bloc in Israel’s Knesset, Israeli media outlets including the Israel Broadcasting Authority (KAN), Maariv newspaper and Channel 7 reported.
Referring to the security situation in northern Israel, he said “the Lebanese group Hezbollah is now at its lowest level in decades. It is isolated within the Lebanese government, removed from the centres of power, cut off from the land supply route in Syria, deprived of its leadership, and we have eliminated most of its capabilities.”
He claimed that “the Israeli army is holding on to sovereignty in Lebanon, attacking everything that moves freely, and remains at five military posts along the border to defend the northern cities, with no intention of stopping.”
Last Tuesday, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli military withdrew from the occupied villages and towns in southern Lebanon, except for five key points along the border.
Regarding the Gaza Strip, Smotrich warned the Palestinian group Hamas, noting that its fighters “know very well that their time on the ground is limited until Israel returns to the battlefield with all its strength, speed and deadly potential to defeat and destroy them.”
“When we decide it is time to resume the war, you will be surprised at the unity, strength and deadly precision of our occupation of Gaza,” he added.
Smotrich promises Hamas “painful revenge”
Smotrich promised Hamas “painful revenge that will leave no remnants or refugees behind.” He noted that the Israeli military is preparing under the leadership of Chief of General Staff Zamir, who will take up his duties in the first week of March, with the political support of the Trump administration, which is “finally speaking clearly about eradicating Hamas from the face of the earth.”
As for the West Bank, Smotrich threatened to turn its neighbourhoods into a situation similar to Jabalia in northern Gaza, where Israel has committed extermination and ethnic cleansing.
The minister boasted of forcibly removing tens of thousands of Palestinian residents from refugee camps in the West Bank so that his army could destroy those places. He said the Israeli military uses tanks and armoured vehicles in the occupied West Bank to destroy those he considers “terrorists.”
Israeli tanks move into the West Bank
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is intensifying its counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank by deploying a tank division in the Jenin area. According to the Military Spokesperson’s Office, this is the first time armoured vehicles have been deployed to the region since Operation Protective Wall in 2002.
According to the IDF, the Nahal Brigade and the Duvdevan Special Unit have begun operating in villages near Jenin, while the Armoured Division has begun offensive operations in the city itself. The military is also continuing activity in the Tulkarm sector.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that some 40,000 Palestinians have left the refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, and there are now “no civilians” there. He ordered troops to prepare for a “prolonged stay” in the zones, banning the return of the population for at least a year.
On February 22, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the state had postponed the release of Palestinian prisoners.
On January 19, a ceasefire was imposed in the Gaza Strip as part of an agreement reached by Hamas and Israel. The truce is expected to last at least 42 days. During this time, 33 hostages are expected to return to Israel, while the Jewish state has pledged to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
