Rome, Dec. 18 (LaPresse) – Israeli Finance Minister and extreme right-wing politician Bezalel Smotrich spoke out against the potential ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip conditional on the release of hostages, calling it ‘a grave mistake that neither serves the objectives and interests of the State of Israel in the war, nor leads to the return of the hostages, because in the end it is a partial agreement’. Ynet reports. ‘Hamas is at its lowest point since the beginning of the war, and this is not the time to give it an escape route,’ he added.