In an interview with the Hebrew radio station Radio Kol Berama, Eliyahu responded to a question about whether Israel could drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza by saying that “this is one of the possibilities.”
That was far from his only incendiary statement; he also said that Gazan civilians aren’t innocent and don’t deserve help, with comments like “we wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid” and “there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza.”
He also backed taking over the Gaza Strip territory and restoring settlements there. When asked what would happen to the Palestinian people living there now, he said: “They can go to Ireland or deserts; the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves.”
Eliyahu is a member of the country’s ultranationalist Jewish Power party, which is part of the coalition government. However, Eliyahu is not part of the war cabinet that has been set up to handle the war against Hamas, nor is his party leader, and they would therefore have no inside knowledge of Israel’s nuclear abilities or plans.
Although Israel has never officially stated whether they have nuclear weapons or not, analysts believe they have had them for decades, with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimating they have 90 warheads; some estimates have placed their stockpile of nuclear missiles as high as 400.
The government’s response to Eliyahu’s comments was swift and severe, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that he has suspended Eliyahu from government meetings. He said that “Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality” and insisted that the country is “operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called the comments “baseless and irresponsible.” He wrote on X: “It’s good that these are not the people in charge of Israel’s security.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that Eliyahu was an “extremist” whose controversial remarks could put the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza at risk, as well as Israeli society and the country’s international standing, which is already taking a severe hit as the casualties add up in the Gaza Strip.
However, the move wasn’t enough for the foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia, who said: "Moreover, not dismissing the minister and only freezing his membership constitutes the utmost disregard for all human standards and values."
Netanyahu’s suspension of Eliyahu part of desperate damage control efforts
Netanyahu’s quick suspension of Eliyahu demonstrates the challenges he is facing when it comes to getting international support right now. The IDF is currently involved in a major ground invasion aimed at dismantling the military capabilities of the terrorist group Hamas. Airstrikes and other attacks have already killed thousands of people in Gaza, and they have drawn criticism from around the world, including the U.S., for not doing enough to protect civilians in Gaza, particularly given Hamas’s proclivity for using innocent people as human shields.
Hamas’s October 7 attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis and took more than 240 hostages came at a time when the Israeli people were sharply divided over plans by Netanyahu’s government to rein in the powers of the judiciary. He has since brought more centrist parties into his war cabinet in the interest of national unity as he continues to operate in damage control mode.
Protestors have been crowding outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence calling for his resignation and imploring him to do more to get the hostages freed, and the vast majority of them believe he should resign.
A poll carried out on Saturday by Channel 13 in Israel found that 76 percent of Israelis believed that Netanyahu should resign, while 64 percent called for immediate elections when the war concludes.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.
