Israeli Heritage minister Amichay Eliyahu found himself in hot waters after suggesting the use of a nuclear bomb on Gaza, adding that the governemt should treat own their hostages as collateral damage and bomb Gaza.
The heritage minister faced suspension from government meetings “until further notice” on Sunday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reacted to his comments.
Amichay Eliyahu, a member of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition and an ultranationalist politician, made these remarks during an interview on Israel’s Kol Barama radio. He expressed dissatisfaction with the scale of Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, even if it meant risking the lives of hostages in Gaza.
When asked whether he supported the idea of using “some kind of atomic bomb” in Gaza to “kill everyone,” Eliyahu responded, “That’s one option.”
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement, characterising Eliyahu’s comments as “disconnected from reality”.
In a follow-up question regarding the estimated 240 hostages in Gaza, Eliyahu asserted that “in war, we pay a price.”
