Bezalel Smotrich: Hamas Fighters Inside the Yellow Line Must Not Be Allowed to Go Free

When Israel withdrew behind the Yellow Line it drew in Gaza, it made clear that all Hamas fighters were to pull out from that half of Gaza. If they remained, that meant they were intent on continuing to fight, largely by hiding in their tunnels and emerging to ambush IDF soldiers. Any who stayed would naturally be seen as a threat, and dealt with accordingly. Now the IDF believes that there are about two hundred Hamas operatives hiding on the eastern side of the Yellow Line. Bezalel Smotrich, the minister the world loves to hate for his supposed “far-right” views, has now called for hunting down those two hundred Hamas troops in their warren of tunnels. Not everyone agrees; some Israelis think these Hamas troops ought to be allowed to leave unharmed, and to go to the other side of Gaza, to Rafah, as long as they surrender their arms first. More on what should be done about these last two hundred Hamas combatants inside the Yellow Line can be found here: “Smotrich: Israel ‘close to killing’ Hamas terrorists in tunnels, no ‘safe passage’ for them,” Jerusalem Post, November 5, 2025:

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich emphasized the need to eliminate the hundreds of terrorists on the Israeli side of Gaza’s Yellow Line in Rafah, stating that Israeli forces are close to eliminating them in the tunnels, during a Wednesday morning interview on public broadcaster KAN News’s The Kalman Liberman Show.

“We need to eliminate the 200 terrorists stuck in Rafah. We’re close to killing them in the tunnels,” he said.

He went on to explain that Hamas has already agreed to return the body of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin and that releasing terrorists in exchange would be unacceptable.

Smotrich also rejected a reported proposal to allow “safe passage” for the roughly 200 Hamas operatives to Hamas-controlled territory from the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in exchange for the return of the bodies of hostages.

But Hamas has already committed itself to returning the bodies of all the dead hostages. Why should it be given still another concession by Israel for doing what is had already been obligated to do?

“Under no circumstances will we pay with another 200 terrorists,” Smotrich said. “Returning them would be a betrayal of the fallen soldiers. I’ve been saying this to the prime minister, the chief of staff, and the defense minister, don’t dare to do this.”

Additionally, Smotrich addressed ongoing discussions about deploying a multinational force in Gaza. He said that Israel is working on a “detailed agreement” to ensure full coordination and veto rights….

It’s unclear what the Americans and the Arab bankrollers of Gaza’s reconstruction, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are planning for the governance in Gaza once Hamas has been disarmed, its leaders exiled, and its rule in Gaza has come to an end. The Israelis have made clear that they want a government of Arab technocrats, and thought they had an understanding with the United States to that effect. But now, worryingly, they have learned that some role for Turkey and Qatar, two countries that have supported the Muslim Brotherhood and its Gaza offshoot, Hamas, has not been ruled out. This is something no Israeli government can possibly allow. How far is Trump willing to go in bullying an ally?

Regarding the United States’ involvement in efforts to stabilize Gaza, Smotrich said that Israel would continue to cooperate but maintain its independence. “We need to consider the US president, but we can also say ‘no’ to him,” he said.

I’m not sure that Prime Minister Netanyahu agrees. He’s keenly aware of Israel’s reliance on American weaponry, and of the possible need to have the Americans again join Israel in an attack on Iran as it tries to restart its nuclear program. He also knows that at the UN Washington is Israel’s indispensable ally and diplomatic shield. He hasn’t been saying “no” to the Americans — to mollify Trump, he got on the phone to apologize to the prime minister of Qatar for an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha that went badly.

Netanyahu is focused on the disarming of Hamas. But Hamas has no intention of disarming. And Netanyahu, it seems, is willing to let the 200 Hamas combatants now behind the Yellow Line to cross over into western Gaza, unharmed, as long as they surrender their weapons. This makes no sense. The minute those 200 terrorists are allowed to cross the Yellow Line into the part of Gaza Hamas still controls, their fellows will simply hand over other weapons to replace those they gave to the Israelis. And they will be back in business, terrorizing Gazans, suppressing the clans that oppose them, planning their next attacks on Israelis across the Yellow Line.

Smotrich, “far-right” Smotrich, beyond-the-pale Smotrich, is correct. It would be madness to let those 200 Hamas terrorists cross the Yellow Line into what remains of Hamastan, just as long as they disarm first. Find them where they are now hiding in their tunnels, these “old moles that in the earth dost delve so deep,” these sinister sandhogs, and blow both them, and their tunnels, to smithereens.