Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced that he will oppose President Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, insisting that Israel must resume its military campaign in Gaza once all hostages are freed.
Smotrich made the declaration in a post on X on Thursday, October 9, 2025, arguing that accepting the truce would amount to “a surrender to illusions of peace.”
He maintained that the war should continue until Hamas is “completely destroyed and Gaza is fully demilitarized.”
“I will not support this deal,” Smotrich wrote. “Once the hostages are home, we must resume the war with full force until the mission is completed.”
The far-right minister, who heads the Religious Zionism Party and serves within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, said his party would vote against the agreement when it is presented to the Cabinet.
The Trump-brokered plan seeks to end the year-long conflict through a phased ceasefire, prisoner exchanges, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops, and international oversight of Gaza’s reconstruction.
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While Netanyahu and some senior officials have cautiously endorsed the framework, Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have strongly opposed it, warning that any cessation of hostilities before Hamas’s total defeat would endanger Israel’s security.
“The real goal must remain the complete dismantling of Hamas and the reestablishment of full Israeli control over Gaza,” Smotrich added in his post.
The proposed deal, which has U.S. backing and the support of Egypt and Qatar as mediators, is expected to be debated by the Israeli Cabinet in the coming days.