Overview

• Bezalel Smotrich outlined a four-week plan to annex sections of the Gaza Strip if Hamas refuses to surrender, disarm and release Israeli captives.
• He said Palestinians would be told to move south, with sieges on northern and central areas preceding annexation and a permanent Israeli security perimeter.
• Smotrich defined surrender as freeing all hostages, handing over all weapons, exiling Hamas leaders and fully demilitarizing the territory.
• He urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt the plan immediately, while Netanyahu offered no public comment.
• Hamas denounced the proposal as an appeal to exterminate Palestinians, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of massive death and destruction as he described famine as a present-day catastrophe.