Israel Hamas war: Asked whether an atomic bomb should be dropped on the Gaza Strip, Amihai Eliyahu said “this is one of the possibilities".
Israel Hamas war updates: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu statement claiming dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza Strip was "one of the possibilities” even as the war against Palestine-based Hamas militants has intensified in the enclave.
“Minister Amihai Eliyahu's statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory,” wrote the Prime Minister of Israel's official handle on social media 'X'.
Asked in an interview with Radio Kol Berama whether an atomic bomb should be dropped on the enclave, Eliyahu had said “this is one of the possibilities".
Eliyahu, of Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right party, is not part of the security cabinet which is involved in wartime decision-making, nor does he hold sway over the war cabinet directing the war against the Hamas terror group, The Times of Israel reported.
During the interview, Eliyahu raised his objection to allowing any humanitarian aid into Gaza. “We wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid… there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Eliyahu also backed retaking the Gaza Strip’s territory and restoring the settlements there, the report added. Asked about the fate of Palestinian civilians Eliyahu said, “They can go to Ireland or deserts, the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves.”
He added that the northern Strip has no right to exist, adding that anyone waving a Palestinian or Hamas flag “shouldn’t continue living on the face of the earth.”
Hamas says Israel kills 45 in camp bombing
At least 45 people were killed at a central Gaza refugee camp as Israel pressed its war to crush Hamas on Sunday nearly a month after the deadliest attack in the country's history.
Ground battles raged in the north of the densely populated Gaza Strip, despite calls for a ceasefire from Arab countries and from desperate civilians after 30 days of a war that has killed thousands, mostly civilians.
News agency AFP reported that Israeli troops engaged in house-to-house battles as tanks and armoured bulldozers churned through the sand as the army tightened the encirclement of Gaza City, still home to hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Since the shock Hamas attack of October 7, which Israeli officials say killed 1,400, also mostly civilians, and saw 240 taken hostage, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip, levelling entire city blocks.
In a video taken from Israel's Sderot along the border with the Gaza Strip, an Israeli flag was seen raised on top of a destroyed building.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, says more than 9,480 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed.