End Hamas talks, destroy enemy in Gaza, Smotrich urges in wake of Iran victory

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the government on Monday to carry out a “high-intensity war” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip while discontinuing indirect talks for a truce with the terrorists.

“No more dialogue with murderers, no more deals with the devil, no more releasing murderous terrorists,” the finance minister declared during remarks at a faction meeting of his Religious Zionism Party.

“It’s time to continue the momentum of victory over the Iranians into a high-intensity war that will destroy the enemy in Gaza and remove the threat for decades to come,” said Smotrich in his public remarks.

Smotrich noted that over the course of just 12 days, the Israel Defense Forces neutralized Iran’s entire nuclear program, while the destruction of Hezbollah’s 200,000 missiles took mere weeks, and the remains of the Syrian Armed Forces were flattened by the IDF within seven days.

“The region is undergoing a strategic shake-up in our favor,” he stressed.

According to Smotrich, if Jerusalem gives in to Hamas, “the message that will go out to the world will become clear: The way to bring Israel to its knees is to kidnap Jews. There will be no greater danger than that.” The minister warned that “every Jewish child will become a target.”

Instead, he proposed “the destruction of Hamas and the return of those kidnapped from a position of power"—e.g. through military pressure.

Israeli troops have been actively operating in Jabalia in northern Gaza in recent weeks as part of “Gideon’s Chariots,” targeting and killing numerous terrorists, confiscating weapons and methodically dismantling Hamas infrastructure, the military said.

On Sunday evening, the IDF reported that during one operation, troops discovered an explosive device site in the Jabalia area. After quickly identifying the location, an Israeli Air Force aircraft, guided by the brigade’s Fire Control Center, carried out a strike to dismantle the site.

According to the IDF update, Givati Brigade soldiers, under the command of the 162nd Division, are actively working to neutralize threats above and below ground. The military also pointed out that some of the seized weapons were found within civilian structures.

The IDF late Monday morning urgently called for residents of large parts of Gaza City and Jabalia to evacuate west and south toward the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone due to expanding military operations.

IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee listed several neighborhoods for evacuation and warned that the operation will intensify, with forces already present in the Salah al-Din axis area, which is now blocked. The IDF stressed that staying in or returning to these areas poses a serious danger to civilians, and accused Hamas of putting residents at risk.

An IDF soldier was killed battling Palestinian terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Sunday. The slain man was named as Sgt. Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, from Ra’anana. He served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade.

The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 436, and at 880 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, per official military figures.

Terrorists in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, according to Israeli estimates. They are 49 of the 251 people abducted by Hamas-led terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza on Aug. 1, 2014. Of these, 28 are confirmed dead according to the Israel Defense Forces, and about 20 are believed to be alive, with grave concerns for the well-being of two others.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha on Monday that “there are no official negotiations currently underway” between the Jewish state and the terrorist group.

The contacts between Qatar and its “partners,” mediated by Egypt and the U.S., are aimed at “maintaining contacts with all parties to reach a formula allowing a return to the negotiating table,” Al Ansari said.

“Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” launched on May 16, aims to complete the defeat of Hamas, dismantle its “military” and governing infrastructure in Gaza, secure the release of the remaining hostages, establish territorial control over large parts of the coastal enclave, and provide an alternative aid distribution mechanism to bypass the Palestinian terrorist group.