DaysofPal-The Hamas Movement declared that recent comments by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in which he called for the denial of water, electricity, and food to the Gaza Strip, amount to a clear acknowledgment of “Israel’s” policy of genocide and collective extermination.
On Thursday, Smotrich urged that essential supplies be cut off from Gaza, openly inciting violence against its population.
In a press briefing, he asserted that “those who don’t die by gunfire will die of hunger,” further suggesting that Gaza’s so-called “population issue” could be solved through voluntary emigration.
He also rejected any potential agreements so long as Hamas retained the ability to regroup.
In response, Hamas stressed that these statements amount to a direct call for the continuation of Israeli military crimes aimed at the annihilation and forced displacement of Palestinians.
The Movement underlined that Smotrich’s remarks are an official admission of using starvation and siege as weapons, which are actions that constitute war crimes under international law, including the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute.
Hamas further described Smotrich’s words as evidence of a wider Israeli strategy of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing, arguing that this reinforces the case for prosecuting Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The group highlighted that such policies are not new, but have been systematically enforced for nearly two years through a blockade on food and medicine, repeated strikes on aid distribution centers, the destruction of vital infrastructure, and mass relocation efforts.
Concluding its statement, Hamas said Smotrich’s declarations reveal the true face of Israeli policy: Gaza is not being treated as a battlefield but as a target for extermination and depopulation.
The movement called for urgent international intervention and accountability of Israeli officials for crimes against humanity.
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