Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened Sunday to overthrow the government if it did not occupy the Gaza Strip, Anadolu news agency reported.
The extremist minister called a Gaza ceasefire agreement a “very serious mistake” and “surrender to Hamas.”
The Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect at 11.15 a.m. local time (0915GMT) on Sunday after a few hours’ delay due to Israeli accusations for Hamas of delaying the release of a list of captives set to be released. It was originally scheduled to start on 8.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT).
Israel “must occupy Gaza and create a temporary military government because there is no other way to defeat Hamas,” Smotrich told Army Radio.
“I will overthrow the government if it does not return to fighting in a way that [leads to us] taking over the entire Gaza Strip and governing it.”
Earlier, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced his party’s withdrawal from the ruling coalition after the Gaza ceasefire.
After Ben-Gvir’s party withdrawal, the ruling coalition still survives with 62 parliamentary seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
On Saturday, 24 ministers in the government approved the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement while eight rejected it.
Israel has killed nearly 47,000 people in Gaza since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks that claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.
However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.
In the first phase, there will be a six-week ceasefire, Israeli forces will withdraw from populated areas of Gaza, and 33 of the around 98 remaining hostages will be released in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase involves the release of remaining hostages and Israeli forces will fully withdraw from Gaza.
In the final phase, the remains of any deceased hostages will be returned to their families, and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin.
READ: Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir’s party quits Israeli government as Gaza ceasefire begins