Latest news with #Eliyahu
Middle East Eye
5 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israel 'racing' to wipe out Gaza, heritage minister says
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu said on Thursday that the government is 'racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out', as daily air strikes continue to kill dozens of Palestinians. 'Thank God, we are wiping out this evil,' he said during an interview with Haredi radio station Kol Barama. 'All Gaza will be Jewish,' he added. Eliyahu, a member of the far-right Jewish Power party led by Itamar Ben Gvir, also said that 'there is no hunger in Gaza". 'But we don't need to be concerned with hunger in the strip,' he continued. 'Let the world worry about it.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Over 100 humanitarian agencies signed a letter on Wednesday sounding the alarm over Israel-imposed starvation in Gaza, where at least 45 Palestinians have died from malnutrition over the past week, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Eliyahu's comments drew immediate criticism from Israel's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, who urged the minister to retract his statement during a tense private phone call, according to the Jerusalem Post. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Eliyahu "does not speak for the government I lead". 'He is not a member of the Security Cabinet that determines the conduct of the war,' Netanyahu added. Nuking Gaza Eliyahu has previously discussed using nuclear weapons in Gaza, telling a radio host in 2023 that 'that's one option' for Israeli military strategy in the besieged enclave. These comments drew a reprimand from Netanyahu, though Eliyahu retained his ministerial role despite calls for his immediate removal, following a brief suspension from cabinet meetings. Later that year, in December, Eliyahu called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners after his Jewish Power party submitted a controversial draft law on the matter to the Israeli parliament. 'We are a law-abiding state, but we urgently need to refer them to God so that they are not released in deals,' said Eliyahu, according to Ynet.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli Ambassador rebukes MK Eliyahu over Gaza comments: 'Harmful to US support'
In a tense phone call this morning, Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter urged Minister Eliyahu to retract his statements, saying, "They harm our relations with supporters in the White House" In a tense phone call this morning, Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter urged Minister Eliyahu to retract his statements "The government is rushing to erase Gaza, and thank God we are erasing this evil. All of Gaza will be Jewish" saying, "They harm our relations with supporters in the White House, Congress, the Senate, and Christian communities in the US" According to a source with knowledge, the ambassador further stated during the heated conversation, which was conducted at times in heated tone, that the remarks were inaccurate: "Many people are working day and night to ensure that Gaza's residents receive food and humanitarian aid." "Minister Amichay Eliyahu does not speak for the government I lead. He is not a member of the Security Cabinet that determines the conduct of the war," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, posted on the Prime Minister's Office X/Twitter page. "His views are his own. He opposed the hostage release agreement and chose to resign. This government's policy is clear and united. His statements do not represent it." In a Thursday morning interview on Kol Barama radio the minister also said "We don't need to be concerned about hunger in the Strip. We have completely lost our minds." Eliyahu's statements do not reflect policy of Netanyahu, gov't Ambassador Leiter tweeted on X that Eliyahu statements do not reflect the policy of Netanyahu and his government. "The exact opposite is true", the Ambassador tweeted. "Despite the enormous difficulties of providing humanitarian aid to the non-combatant population of Gaza, we have done so with determination and commitment. The PM has stated that, 'There will be no starvation in Gaza. Period.'" Leiter added that the quotes attributed to Minister Eliyahu are wrong, foolish and totally unrepresentative of the government and people of Israel. "Our objective is, and will remain, the total defeat of Hamas, which serves death and destruction, murder and mayhem, on Israelis and Gazans, while providing humanitarian assistance to non-combatant Gazans". Solve the daily Crossword
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
‘All of Gaza will be Jewish'
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu has said Israel should not be concerned about hunger in the besieged Gaza Strip, drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum. The far-right Otzma Yehudit politician dismissed renewed UN warnings of man-made famine in the enclave, stating that the Israeli government is 'racing toward erasing Gaza.' 'Thank God we are erasing this evil. All of Gaza will be Jewish,' Eliyahu told Radio Kol Barama on Thursday, according to Ynet. 'We shouldn't be dealing with hunger in Gaza –let the world take care of them. No nation feeds its enemies. Have we completely lost our minds? Should we care about their evening meal?' he added. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself from the comments, noting that Eliyahu is not a member of the Security Cabinet, which determines the conduct of the war. 'This government's policy is clear and united. His statements do not represent it,' Netanyahu said. Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter also condemned Eliyahu's remarks, calling them 'wrong, foolish, and totally unrepresentative of the government and people of Israel.' Posting on X, he insisted that Israel is committed to creating a mechanism to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazan civilians 'BUT NOT THROUGH HAMAS.' According to local health authorities, more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including at least 113 who died from hunger. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that Israel's 'blockade' has pushed Gaza to the brink of 'mass starvation.' Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), has called on Israel to allow access for 6,000 aid trucks currently stalled in Egypt and Jordan. Israeli officials, meanwhile, have accused Hamas and other armed groups of hoarding supplies and attacking civilians at distribution points.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
US and Israel withdraw from Gaza ceasefire talks, claiming Hamas ‘not acting in good faith'
Talks for a ceasefire in Gaza were dealt a new blow on Thursday after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said his ceasefire negotiators will return to Israel from Qatar for further consultations. US envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement that the US was doing the same. They made the decision after Israel received Hamas's response to mediators' proposal for a 60-day truce. 'While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,' Mr Witkoff said. 'We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.' It wasn't immediately clear what led to the breakdown in talks, but Israel's Channel 12 reported that Hamas wants the release of 200 prisoners serving life sentences and another 2,000 arrested in Gaza after October 7th 2023, the day the Palestinian militant group triggered the war by attacking southern Israel. Those are higher than the original proposal that won Israel's agreement, Channel 12 reported. The station also said there were issues around a potential Israeli troop pullback and a Hamas demand for US guarantees that the ceasefire will go on beyond 60 days as long as talks continue. Israeli public broadcaster Kan News said Hamas was also insisting that Israel free some people who joined the October 7th attack on Israel. 'We are determined to achieve all the goals of the war,' Netanyahu said in a speech on Thursday. 'We are working to achieve another deal to release our hostages. But if Hamas perceives our willingness to reach a deal as weakness and an opportunity to dictate terms of surrender that would endanger the State of Israel, it is making a big mistake.' The latest disagreement deals a fresh blow to the talks, weeks after President Donald Trump said a deal was close. Amid rising starvation in the Gaza Strip , an Israeli government minister said on Thursday that Israel had no duty to alleviate hunger in the territory and was seeking to expel its population. Far-right politician Amichay Eliyahu, who leads Israel's heritage ministry, said in a radio interview that 'there is no nation that feeds its enemies,' adding that 'the British didn't feed the Nazis, nor did the Americans feed the Japanese, nor do the Russians feed the Ukrainians now'. He concluded that the government was 'rushing toward Gaza being wiped out,' while also 'driving out the population that educated its people on the ideas of 'Mein Kampf'', an anti-Semitic text written by Adolf Hitler. Life in the West Bank Listen | 26:12 The office of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu declined to comment on whether Mr Eliyahu's remarks had represented the government's position. An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Eliyahu's comments did not reflect military policy. Mr Eliyahu oversees historical and archaeological sites and institutions in Israel and has no authority over the military. He does not participate in meetings of a small group of ministers who oversee security decisions. His office did not reply to requests for clarification. Mr Eliyahu's comments were swiftly condemned by Israeli opposition politicians, who said the minister did not represent the Israeli mainstream. Polling suggests a majority of Israelis favour reaching a ceasefire to release hostages held by Islamist group Hamas. The interview came amid increasing cases of starvation in Gaza. Israel has blocked all food deliveries to the enclave between early March and late May. While Israel allows some food into Gaza, it has drastically reduced the number of places from which food is distributed, forcing Palestinians to receive food aid from a handful of sites that are hard to access. The UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said that one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing daily. Unrwa commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini cited a colleague telling him: 'People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses.' More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation and pressed for governments to take action. – New York Times/Reuters/Bloomberg
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
No obligation on Israel to remedy starvation in Gaza Strip, says minister
Amid rising starvation in the Gaza Strip , an Israeli government minister said on Thursday that Israel had no duty to alleviate hunger in the territory and was seeking to expel its population. Far-right politician Amichay Eliyahu, who leads Israel's heritage ministry, said in a radio interview that 'there is no nation that feeds its enemies,' adding that 'the British didn't feed the Nazis, nor did the Americans feed the Japanese, nor do the Russians feed the Ukrainians now'. He concluded that the government was 'rushing toward Gaza being wiped out,' while also 'driving out the population that educated its people on the ideas of 'Mein Kampf'', an anti-Semitic text written by Adolf Hitler. Life in the West Bank Listen | 26:12 The office of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu declined to comment on whether Mr Eliyahu's remarks had represented the government's position. An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Eliyahu's comments did not reflect military policy. Mr Eliyahu oversees historical and archaeological sites and institutions in Israel and has no authority over the military. He does not participate in meetings of a small group of ministers who oversee security decisions. His office did not reply to requests for clarification. Mr Eliyahu's comments were swiftly condemned by Israeli opposition politicians, who said the minister did not represent the Israeli mainstream. Polling suggests a majority of Israelis favour reaching a ceasefire to release hostages held by Islamist group Hamas. The interview came amid increasing cases of starvation in Gaza. Israel has blocked all food deliveries to the enclave between early March and late May. While Israel allows some food into Gaza, it has drastically reduced the number of places from which food is distributed, forcing Palestinians to receive food aid from a handful of sites that are hard to access. The UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said that one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing daily. Unrwa commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini cited a colleague telling him: 'People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses.' More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation and pressed for governments to take action. Israel says there is no siege and blames Hamas for the widespread malnutrition. Israel and the United States, meanwhile, have recalled their delegations from ceasefire talks for consultations. US envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of failing to act in good faith in the talks. 'While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be co-ordinated or acting in good faith. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,' said Mr Witkoff on X. . — Department of State (@StateDept) An Israeli official with knowledge of the talks said the answer presented by Hamas to the most recent ceasefire proposal 'does not allow for progress without a concession' by the group, but that Israel intended to continue discussions. Mediators have been seeking to clinch an agreement that would secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. Israel and Hamas are facing pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal after almost two years of war. The humanitarian situation inside the war-torn enclave is deteriorating sharply and Israelis are worried about the conditions in which remaining hostages are being held. Elsewhere, a senior German government official said Israel was violating the law of war in Gaza , but insisted that Berlin will not be the 29th signatory to a letter demanding Israel 'end now' its military action. [ Germany says Israel 'violating law of war' in Gaza but refuses to sign ceasefire letter Opens in new window ] Jürgen Hardt , foreign policy spokesman for the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), argued the letter was already being used by Hamas and other parts of the Arab world for propaganda purposes. 'That doesn't need to happen with German assistance,' he said. However, Mr Hardt admitted German officials no longer believe Israel is doing everything it can to allow enough humanitarian aid into Gaza. – New York Times/Reuters
