Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Tuesday that what is left of Gaza will be destroyed if Hamas does not release the remaining 48 Israeli hostages, as many as 20 of whom may still be alive.
“If Hamas terrorists do not lay down their arms and release all the hostages—they will be destroyed and Gaza will be ruined,” Katz said on X.
Katz made the statement as Israel warned Palestinian civilians in Gaza City to evacuate south along humanitarian corridors, and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops prepared an assault on the city, which is one of Hamas’s last strongholds in the area.
The tough rhetoric was backed by Israel’s destruction of several high-rise buildings in Gaza City, after warning residents to leave. The IDF said the buildings housed Hamas infrastructure and tunnels. In addition, the IDF is likely concerned about such buildings being used to fire upon Israeli soldiers below once they have entered the city.
Katz’s statement came despite last-ditch efforts to secure a hostage deal that would end the war. The tough rhetoric could be seen as part of a “good cop, bad cop” strategy — or as a reaction to the events of recent days, including a terror attack in which Palestinian gunmen murdered civilians on a bus in Jerusalem Monday.
The warning is also notable because Israel is, in fact, in position to carry it out — and not just from the air, but on the ground as well.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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