<article data-history-node-id="422184" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-finance-minister-says-gaza-will-be-entirely-destroyed" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-finance-minister-says-gaza-will-be-entirely-destroyed" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Israeli finance minister says that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed”</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed” by Israel, The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.</p> <p>Speaking at a conference at an illegal settlement in the West Bank, Smotrich vowed the occupied Gaza Strip would be destroyed within a few months, and the Palestinian population would “leave in great numbers to third countries”, raising fears of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territory.</p> <p>He said, “They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”</p> <p>He also said that Israel would “apply sovereignty” in the West Bank during the government’s current term.</p> <p>Smotrich’s comments followed the day after Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to intensify its campaign in Gaza and expand its control of the territory.</p> </div> </div> </article>

The army says troops are attacking the Shaboura in southern Gaza, and ‘strengthening’ operations in the central Strip.