Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday clarified remarks he made earlier this week about humanitarian aid to Gaza after Western nations slammed him for implying that Jerusalem should halt aid until Hamas frees the 115 captives still held in the enclave after more than 300 days.
“My statement emphasized the necessity of providing humanitarian aid, acknowledging that the international community would not permit the withholding of essential supplies from Gaza’s population,” Smotrich said.
“However, I also proposed that, from a moral standpoint, we should implement a reciprocal humanitarian approach,” he told Israel Hayom.
“This would entail conditioning our aid on the return of our hostages. While our captives endure harsh conditions in underground tunnels, we continue to pamper Gaza with resources. In my assessment, this imbalance raises significant ethical concerns and fails to serve the principles of justice,” the Religious Zionism Party leader explained.
Speaking on Monday at the annual Katif Conference, which deals with current issues in Israeli society, Smotrich told attendees that Jerusalem has “no choice” but to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
“Nobody will let us cause 2 million civilians to succumb to hunger, even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned,” he said. “Humanitarianism in exchange for humanitarianism is morally justified—but what can we do?”
According to a January survey, 72% of Israelis believe that aid should be suspended until the hostages are freed, with 21% of respondents wanting it to continue. A separate poll of Israel Defense Forces soldiers found that 90% of reservists were against allowing aid trucks into Gaza.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Israeli reporters that the Biden administration condemns Smotrich’s remarks.
“We are appalled by these comments and reiterate that this rhetoric is harmful and disturbing,” the Foggy Bottom spokesperson stated.
The statement came shortly after outgoing European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to distance himself from the senior Cabinet minister’s remarks.
“Deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. Minister Smotrich saying that ‘it might be justified and moral’ to let Israel ’cause 2 million civilians to die of hunger’ until the ‘hostages are returned’ is beyond ignominious,” the E.U. diplomat said. “It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy tweeted on Wednesday night, “There can be no justification for Minister Smotrich’s remarks. We expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them.”
Germany’s ambassador to the Jewish state, Steffen Siebert, called the remarks “unacceptable and appalling,” writing in an X post on Wednesday. “It is a principle of international law and of humanity to protect civilians in a war and to give them access to water and food,” he said.
The French Foreign Ministry said it was “deeply shocked” by Smotrich’s “appalling remarks.”
“France reminds Israel that it must act in accordance with the International Court of Justice’s ruling from January 26 and take all necessary steps to implement it. Providing humanitarian aid is a duty under international humanitarian law,” Paris’s statement added.
IDF ground forces entered the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27 following weeks of airstrikes in response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, in which Arab terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and abducted more than 250 men, women and children to the enclave.
Since the start of the war, Jerusalem has allowed more than 850,000 tons of humanitarian aid—or almost 45,000 trucks—into the Gaza Strip, according to the most recent IDF data published on Aug. 6.
Hamas steals at least 60% of the aid intended for noncombatants, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Ronen Bar revealed earlier this year.
The Palestinians’ satisfaction with Hamas has reached its highest point since the Oct. 7 massacre, a poll published in June by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research suggested. Two-thirds said the terrorist organization was “correct” in launching the murderous attack.