Smotrich urges end of Mossad’s role in hostage talks: ‘Only speak to Hamas with shelling and bombs’

Following a primetime television report about the latest proposal for a hostage deal, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lashes out at Israel’s handling of the negotiations and calls the Mossad intelligence agency to no longer involve them.

“The time has come for the Mossad to resume dealing with what it was trained to do: Taking out Hamas leaders across the world and not [taking part] negotiations that have conducted irresponsibly and harm Israel’s security,” the far-right politician writes on X, formerly Twitter.

He also says that “from now we should only speak to Hamas with shelling and bombs,” while calling for Israeli forces to enter Rafah “as quickly and hard as possible, before continuing throughout the entire Strip until [Hamas’s] total destruction.”

“This is critical for Israel’s security and it’s also the only chance to bring back the hostages,” claims Smotrich.