Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the permanent occupation of the Gaza Strip.

He spoke out against a US-backed mediation effort and said Hamas “must be crushed” until it “completely surrenders”. The transfer of all humanitarian aid and fuel should be stopped until all captives held by Hamas are released and Israeli authorities must “encourage immigration and occupy the territories of the Gaza Strip in order to keep them in our hands permanently”, he wrote on X.

Earlier, Ben-Gvir told Israel’s Channel 14 that Israel taking part in ceasefire negotiations would be “a serious mistake”.