Smotrich says Israel should “wipe out Gaza” as an entity and take the whole territory, while insisting he is not advocating genocide

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Israel to take control of the entire Gaza Strip, saying the territory should be eliminated as an entity but that he was not calling for genocide.

“We need to wipe out Gaza, for example. Not commit genocide, God forbid,” he said, describing Gaza as a “terrorist entity” that “should not exist.” He added: “I want all of Gaza. I want Gaza to be ours. I want it for Zionist reasons.” Smotrich has repeatedly supported permanent Israeli control of Gaza and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements there.

Israel withdrew its forces and dismantled all 21 settlements in Gaza in 2005.