Jerusalem, Undefined — Israel’s government on Sunday reprimanded an ultranationalist junior minister who advocated in an interview dropping a nuclear bomb on war-torn Gaza, labelling his comments “disconnected from reality”.
Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu was also suspended from government meetings “until further notice”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, stressing that Israel was seeking to spare “non-combatants”.
Despite the immediate reprimand, the junior minister’s inflammatory comments drew wide condemnation from within Israel and across the Middle East.
Also Read Exclusive reports on Gaza-related developments
The Hamas militants ruling Gaza attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials, in the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, heavily bombed Gaza and launched a ground invasion on the north of the besieged territory. Gaza’s health ministry says 9,770 people have been killed, mostly women and children.
Eliyahu told Israel’s Kol Barama radio he was not entirely satisfied with the scale of Israel’s retaliation.
When the interviewer asked whether he advocated dropping “some kind of atomic bomb” on Gaza “to kill everyone”, Eliyahu replied: “That’s one option.”
In a follow-up question about the hostages held in Gaza, Eliyahu said that “in war we pay a price”.
“Why are the lives of the hostages… more important than the lives of the soldiers?” he said.
The Hostages and Missing Persons and Families Forum, representing relatives of people taken by Hamas, slammed Eliyahu’s “reckless and cruel” statements.
“International law, along with fundamental principles of human morality and common sense, strictly prohibits the use of mass destruction weapons,” it said in a statement.
Following the outcry over his remarks, Eliyahu said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his statement about the atomic bomb was “metaphorical” and that Israel was “committed to doing everything possible to return the hostages safe and sound”.
Israel has never admitted to having a nuclear bomb.
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Eliyahu’s remarks reveal that “Israel possesses nuclear weapons, which is an open secret”.
“But it confirms the truth of the racist view Israelis hold against Palestinians. This is the true face of the occupation government.”
Saudi Arabia criticized the Netanyahu government for not dismissing him.
“Failing to immediately dismiss the minister from the government and simply freezing his membership reflects the height of disdain for all human, moral, religious and legal standards and values of the Israeli government,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.
Jordan said the minister’s remarks were a “call for genocide and a hate crime” against the Palestinians.
Four relatives of journalist killed
Four relatives of a journalist were killed on Sunday in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, the official Lebanese agency NNA said, adding that the journalist was also wounded.
The agency said the four victims are the sister of radio correspondent Samir Ayoub and her three grandchildren. They were following the journalist’s car in their own vehicle when they were killed.
Also Read Exclusive reports on Gaza-related developments
Internet, phone lines cut again in Gaza: telecoms firm
Israel cut internet and phone lines in the Gaza Strip Sunday night, for the third time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, telecoms firm Paltel said.
“We regret to announce the complete shutdown of communications and internet services in Gaza after the Israeli side disconnected the servers,” Paltel said in a statement.
Shortly after the blackout, the Israeli army launched an intense bombardment on Gaza City and other nearby zones in the north of the enclave.
The explosions were so powerful they could be heard in Rafah in the far south of the Palestinian territory, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.
More than 300 Americans, US residents evacuated
More than 300 Americans, US residents and their families have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip, the White House said on Sunday.
The evacuation, carried out in recent days, was the result of “pretty intensive negotiations with all sides relevant to this conflict,” White House deputy national security advisor Jonathan Finer told CBS News.
Despite these efforts, the United States believes there are still “a number” of Americans inside Gaza, he added.
“This is obviously a major priority and one that we’re going to continue to work out until every American who wants to leave is able to do so,” Finer said.