Smotrich stands by ‘misunderstood’ comment seeming to justify Gaza starvation
Minister claims detractors decontextualizing remarks in which he said it could be morally fine for Israel to withhold aid from Gazans until hostages are freed; Egypt joins blowback
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed Thursday that comments he made this week that appeared to justify the starvation of Gazans were taken out of context, as he faced down a chorus of condemnation from international allies and American Jewish groups.
Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, Smotrich stood by his comments, even as he attempted to distance himself from the maelstrom they touched off, with some in Israel reportedly fearing the comments could hurt Jerusalem’s case fighting off genocide accusations at the World Court.
Smotrich told the station he had been “misunderstood” and his comments were taken out of context, arguing that he did not endorse the idea of starving Gazans as a war tactic.
“What I said is that we must allow in humanitarian aid because no one will let us starve Gazans, but what I also said is that morally we must condition [the entry of] humanitarian aid on a humanitarian [concession] and tell Hamas, the Gazans and the world that we allow aid in under the condition that they return our hostages,” Smotrich said.
“The hostages are languishing in the tunnels and we pamper the Gaza Strip [with aid]. In my eyes, this is immoral and unjust,” he added.
On Monday, Smotrich told a conference Israel was providing aid to Gazans because it had no choice. “Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned,” he said.
The remarks have since been met with a flurry of criticism from Israel’s allies, the latest run-in between the far-right firebrand and Western capitals Israel relies on for support.
On Thursday, a White House National Security Council spokesperson joined the State Department and others in calling out Smotrich.
“We unequivocally condemn these appalling comments, and call on the Israeli government to do the same,” an NSC spokesperson told The Times of Israel, a day after a State Department spokesperson called the remarks “harmful and disturbing.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry also condemned Smotrich’s remarks Thursday, describing them as “shameful statements unacceptable in form and substance” and a violation of international humanitarian law.
Such “irresponsible statements” create incitement against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the ministry added.
The European Union, France and the United Kingdom earlier condemned the far-right minister’s comments, with the EU saying the deliberate starvation of civilians was a “war crime.”
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said on X that there “can be no justification for Minister Smotrich’s remarks,” and called on “the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition has been largely silent on the matter.
Speaking to the Ynet news site on Wednesday, Energy Minister Eli Cohen repeatedly refused to condemn Smotrich, saying only that Israel abides by laws and does not starve Gazans.
Over the past 10 months of war, Israel has repeatedly been accused of not allowing enough aid into the Strip and in May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for, among other charges, “causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies.”
The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Israeli troops invaded Gaza with the goal of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.
Aid officials say the war has brought Gaza to the cusp of starvation due to the slow pace of humanitarian aid entering the Strip.
To fend off accusations of genocide, Israel has highlighted its efforts to expand aid deliveries to Gaza and has blamed the humanitarian crisis on aid agencies failing to properly distribute supplies and on the looting of aid trucks by terror groups and gangs.
But some in the international community have pointed to comments from Israeli ministers, including Smotrich, which appear to support withholding aid to Gaza as a negotiating tactic or punitive measure, as proof of a deliberate Israeli campaign of starvation.
Jacob Magid and agencies contributed to this report.
