From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Smotrich condemns strike for hostages as ‘bad campaign that plays into Hamas’s hands’
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Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemns today’s nationwide strike for the release of the hostages and an end to the war as a “bad and damaging campaign” that he says serves the interests of the Hamas terror group.
He is one of multiple members of the right-wing governing coalition to condemn the strike, which was called by families of hostages in protest of the government’s plans to invade Gaza City.
“The nation of Israel is waking up this morning to a bad and damaging campaign that plays into Hamas’s hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and tries to make Israel surrender to its enemies,” Smotrich posts on X.
He claims that the strike has fallen short of hype that has built up over the past week. Even though a long list of companies and local authorities have endorsed the strike, he claims that it has had little effect.
“The campaign has not taken off and involves very few people,” he claims. “The State of Israel is not standing still and not striking.”
Smotrich, who vocally favors Israeli annexation of Gaza and the establishment of settlements there, claims that the events of the day show that the “vast majority” of Israelis “understand that a state that values life cannot surrender to its enemies and stop the war a moment before the destruction of Hamas.”
Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Israelis support a deal with Hamas to release the remaining 50 hostages and end the war. The planned invasion of Gaza City is expected to take months.
Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky also condemns the protests.
“The riots supporting Hamas are kicking off,” he posts. “Jews, Israelis who are torching the state in an attempt to prevent the destruction of Hamas. We’ve had people like this in our nation throughout history. We’ve overcome them. We will this time as well.”
פרעות התמיכה בחמאס יצאו לדרך.
יהודים, ישראלים ששורפים את המדינה בנסיון למנוע את השמדת חמאס.
היו בעם שלנו כבר כאלו במהלך ההסטוריה. התגברנו עליהם. כך יהיה גם הפעם. pic.twitter.com/tZexic9WyM— חנוך מילביצקי – Hanoch Milwidsky (@hanochmilwidsky) August 17, 2025
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