‘Excellent’: Ben-Gvir Brushes Aside Global Outrage Over Gaza Deaths

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded “Excellent” when a reporter told him that remarks about “40–50 killed in Gaza every day” had triggered widespread international uproar.

“Excellent. Excellent. I prefer that they cry, and that a Jewish mother doesn’t cry over her soldier son,” Ben-Gvir said.

The reporter challenged him to speak more responsibly, warning that Israel also had to contend with international opinion.

‘Am I Supposed to Act According to the World?’

Ben-Gvir rejected that argument, portraying foreign criticism as irrelevant to how he believed Israel should act.

He said critics had accused him of causing international damage, including through changes he introduced in Israeli prisons.

“The world doesn’t like us breathing either. The world doesn’t even like the fact that we breathe,” Ben-Gvir said. “So what? Am I supposed to act according to the world?”

His comments amounted to an explicit dismissal of international pressure as a constraint on his policies.

Soldiers Above International Criticism

Ben-Gvir acknowledged that diplomacy and tactical maneuvering could be necessary in some circumstances.

But he argued that Gaza represented a different threshold, saying the lives of Israeli soldiers outweighed international objections.

“There are moments, like the red line in Gaza, when the lives of my soldiers are a million times more important,” he said.

He extended the same argument to criticism of his prison policies, saying he would accept repeated international condemnation if he believed the measures protected Israelis.

“I don’t care if the world criticizes me a million times over the prisons, over the changes I made in the prisons,” he said.

Ben-Gvir claimed those measures had saved not one Jewish person but “thousands of Jews”, before dismissing those criticizing him.

Claim to Represent All Israelis

Ben-Gvir also asserted that his position extended beyond his own political constituency.

“I represent everyone in Israel. I represent all of Israel,” he said, adding that his party represented “the entire people of Israel”.

The remarks reinforced the central argument running through his comments: that external criticism should not determine Israeli policy when he believes Israeli lives are at stake.