Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 17, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Smotrich: Hostage talks are only ‘making the gaps wider’
With the war cabinet set to meet to approve Israel’s position in ongoing talks on a deal to bring home the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says negotiations “only make the gaps wider.”
Speaking to Channel 12, the finance minister insists that “cutting contacts” and increasing military pressure on the terror group is the best way to bring back over 100 hostages held since October 7.
He also voices support for launching an Israeli operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where over half the coastal enclave’s 2.3 million people are sheltering during the ongoing war.
