Ahmad 
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said hostages are of no paramount importance when it comes to the war between Israel and Hamas, sparking outrage in Israel.
In a media interview about the ongoing negotiations to secure the release of the hostages, Smotrich said: “The hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are not the most important thing for Israel.”
Asked if he considered the return of hostages to be the most important goal of Israel’s war against Hamas, the far-right minister said no, saying, “The most important thing is to destroy Hamas.”
Smotrich’s remarks created outrage on the Israeli street, with Channel 12 quoting the father of one of the Israeli prisoners in Gaza as responding to Smotrich: “Let your children be captured and then talk.”
Israeli Minister of War Benny Gantz wrote on the X platform: “The return of hostages is not only our goal in the war, but also our moral duty as a state and as a people, it is the most urgent thing, we will not miss any opportunity to return them to their homeland.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said, “Smotrich’s attack on the families of the abductees is a moral disgrace,” adding: “Heartless people cannot continue to lead the State of Israel into the abyss.”
Lapid continued: “Smotrich, in your era and under Netanyahu, 1,200 Israelis were killed, and in your reign Israeli citizens were kidnapped, tortured and raped and you are responsible for their fate. Without the return of the abductees, Israel will not win.”
החזרת החטופים היא לא רק יעד על שלנו במלחמה, היא ציווי מוסרי שלנו כמדינה וכעם. היא הדבר הדחוף ביותר. לא נחמיץ שום הזדמנות להחזיר אותם הביתה.
— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) February 20, 2024