Outrage Over Smotrich's Gaza Starvation Remarks

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has sparked outrage by suggesting that starving two million Gazans might be 'justified and moral' to pressure Hamas into releasing Israeli hostages, despite acknowledging that the international community would not allow it. His statements have been condemned by humanitarian groups, the Anti-Defamation League, and Palestinian and Israeli activists, who deem the remarks as genocidal and antithetical to Jewish and Israeli values. Smotrich criticized current hostage-return deals as endangering Israel and claimed that allowing humanitarian aid compromises Israel's strategic goals. Meanwhile, the National Assembly of Pakistan condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, attributing over 40,000 deaths to Israeli military campaigns. The resolution emphasized the unity of Pakistani political parties in their grief and anger over the ongoing crisis.