Israeli Minister: Israel Heading Towards Erasing Gaza Strip and Making It All Jewish

Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliahu, sparked controversy with statements describing the Gaza Strip as "evil that must be eliminated", adding that the Israeli government is "moving towards erasing Gaza", and that "ultimately Gaza will be all Jewish", as he put it.


Eliahu said in statements reported by Israeli media: "Thank God, we are getting rid of this evil".

Eliahu is known for his extreme right-wing positions, former head of the "Rabbis of the Community in Israel" association, and currently serves as Minister of Heritage in the Israeli government.

In response to these statements, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid strongly criticized Minister Eliahu's remarks, describing them as "an ethical attack and an interpretive disaster".

Lapid said: "Israel will not convince the world of the justice of our war as long as we are led by an extremist minority government with ministers who sanctify blood and death".

Lapid added, "Israeli soldiers do not fight, die, or get injured to exterminate civilians, but they fight to retrieve hostages and ensure Israel's security".