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Israel’s Far-Right Finance Minister Demands Expanded War Cabinet

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on October 7. (AFP)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on October 7. (AFP)
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Israel’s Far-Right Finance Minister Demands Expanded War Cabinet

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on October 7. (AFP)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on October 7. (AFP)

Israel's far-right finance minister, who has so far been excluded from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, called on Monday for lawmakers taking a harder line towards Hamas to be included in decisions about the war.

Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition includes parties from Israel's far right, has been managing the war with a small group of ministers from his hawkish Likud party and a centrist opposition group that joined an emergency government shortly after Hamas' deadly rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other hardline members of the broader cabinet have been excluded from much of the decision making, and were particularly critical of a decision last week to accede to a US request to allow some fuel into Gaza for humanitarian reasons.

"I think this grave mistake necessitates the expansion of the war cabinet," said Smotrich, arguing that letting in fuel gave Hamas a lifeline during the war.

Netanyahu's office declined to comment.

Smotrich, in a statement, said the war cabinet should include "opinions that until today have not been heard", including from those with a record of calling for Hamas to be eliminated.

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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defense Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Reuters quoted Arndell as saying.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defense Force said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.”
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.
He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.
Defense Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defense personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue center, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.