Israeli Minister Says Freeing Hostages Not ‘Most Important’ Aim of the War

A far-right Israeli minister said on Monday that saving the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza was not “the most important goal” in its war with the militant group, adding fuel to a tense debate in Israel over the price it should pay to bring home the dozens of remaining captives.

Bezalel Smotrich, the country’s powerful finance minister, suggested in a radio interview that ensuring that Hamas no longer ruled the Gaza Strip after its deadly 2023 attack in southern Israel was a higher priority.

“We have promised the Israeli people that at the end of the war, Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel,” said Mr. Smotrich, who has called for building Jewish settlements in the Palestinian enclave. “We need to eliminate the problem of Gaza.”

Israel launched the war in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack with at least two aims: destroy Hamas and bring back the more than 250 people captured in the assault.

Both goals have proved elusive despite a devastating campaign that has killed more than 50,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials, who have not said how many of the dead were combatants.

Hamas is demanding a permanent cease-fire in exchange for the release of any more of the remaining hostages. Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have insisted they will not end the war before Hamas surrenders. Mr. Netanyahu has argued that “military pressure” will ultimately force the group to accept more favorable terms.

Mr. Smotrich’s remarks touched a nerve in Israel, where a no-one-left-behind ethos has long prompted the country to make difficult deals in exchange for the release of its captives.

In January, Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas, during which more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged for 30 hostages and the bodies of eight more.

Since Israel ended the truce in mid-March, the families of Israeli hostages have been demanding an immediate agreement to release the remaining captives, even at the cost of ending the war and leaving Hamas in charge of Gaza.

About two dozen living hostages and the bodies of more than 30 others are believed to still be in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.

The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing many of the relatives of the Israeli captives, said that the Israeli government under Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership, had “consciously decided to give up on the hostages.”

There was no immediate comment from Mr. Netanyahu’s office.

More than 36 hostages have died during the 18-month war in the Gaza Strip, some of them in Israeli airstrikes. Hamas has continued to fight a dogged insurgency against Israel for well over a year despite heavy losses, leaving critics skeptical that the group can be destroyed completely.

In an address on Saturday night, Mr. Netanyahu said he would not end the war as long as Hamas ruled Gaza. He accused “elements in Israel” who wanted to end the war in order to bring back the hostages of “echoing Hamas propaganda word for word.”