Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu Sunday from attending any government meetings until further notice, after the minister suggested that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is “one of the possibilities”.
The statement was reportedly made by the minister on the radio show Radio Kol Berama Sunday.
Responding to Eliyahu’s comments, Netanyahu stated on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “Minister Amihai Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents.”
The far-right minister reportedly said on the radio show that “there are no non-combatants in Gaza”, adding that providing humanitarian aid to the Strip would constitute “a failure”.
Eliyahu, an Israeli politician from Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, has been serving as a minister since 2022. He is not a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet and therefore, holds no power over decision-making regarding the conflict with Hamas.
Speaking on the radio show, the minister reportedly criticised allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying, “We wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid,” adding that there are no “uninvolved civilians” in the region.
Eliyahu also reportedly supported re-establishing Israeli control over the Gaza Strip and creating settlements. On the future of the Palestinian population residing in the region, he said, “They can go to Ireland or deserts, the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves.”
According to media reports, the minister said the northern Strip has no right to exist, adding that anyone waving a Palestinian or Hamas flag “shouldn’t continue living on the face of the earth”.
Eliyahu’s statements have drawn criticism both from members of the government and the Opposition, with some calling for his removal.
