Otef Israel Forum: Aid suspension a "vital" step

The Otef Israel Forum released a statement today (Sunday) stating that the suspension of aid to the Gaza Strip was a "vital" step in bringing back the hostages and collapsing the Hamas government in Gaza.

According to their statement:

Here's the English translation:

We support the vital step of stopping humanitarian aid, which has the power to directly influence the return of the hostages and begin dismantling the terrorist organization that still stands on both feet, controls the Strip, and continues to hold our hostages. It was our national duty to stop the aid from the first day of the war.

We welcome this step and hope it will lead to the return of all hostages at once, the removal of the threat that resides in close proximity to us, and full security for the residents of the border communities who returned a year ago to an unsafe reality.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also expressed strong support for the government's decision to completely halt the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas is either destroyed or fully surrenders and all hostages are returned.

Posting on X, Smotrich described the decision as a crucial step in the battle against Hamas, emphasizing that the time had come to "open the gates of hell" and pursue a lethal and swift path to victory.

Smotrich took a harsh stance regarding the hostage deal with Hamas announcing in mid-February of the current year that "The State of Israel has reached a crossroads – will Hamas surrender or will the State of Israel surrender? Will we return to the October 6 outline, continue the withdrawals, abandon the residents of Sderot and the surrounding area, and leave dozens of hostages behind – or will we decide that the State of Israel will no longer return to the routine of terror and the ongoing threat?"

He emphasized, "I will demand today in the Cabinet to vote and adopt President Trump's plan: Israel must present a clear ultimatum to Hamas – return all the hostages to us now, leave Gaza for other countries, and disarm. If Hamas does not respond to the ultimatum, Israel will open the gates of hell – a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip, a complete cessation of aid, without water, without electricity, without fuel, to move the entire population to Mawasi, and from there Israel will immediately begin the emigration of Gaza residents to other countries, annex the northern Gaza Strip, the ridge that controls the boulevards and the surrounding communities, and the security perimeter, including the Philadelphi Route. It's either us or them. Either we will subdue Hamas – or God forbid Hamas will subdue us."