At the Jerusalem Conference in New York City on Sunday, Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar delivered a fiery defense of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas and the government's determination to bring every last hostage home.

“We need to bring all of our 58 hostages back. This is the main mission and we're going to do it,” Zohar told ILTV Executive Editor Maayan Hoffman. “And, of course, we cannot allow that Hamas will continue controlling Gaza… We decided to annex land. We decided to keep the land until they will bring back all of our hostages.”

Responding to a member of the audience who interrupted him, Zohar remained resolute. “First of all, we brought back 196 hostages… And we will never give up our 58 hostages… Believe me that after the death of Mohammed Sinwar and after the decision of our government to annex land and to stay there until they will bring back our hostages, we have a clear chance to get them back.”

Pressed about regional normalization and whether Israel would consider a pathway to a Palestinian state, Zohar rejected the notion outright. “All of the land of Israel belongs to us. It doesn't belong to anyone. It's our country. It's our land.”

He emphasized unwavering trust in US President Donald Trump, who is currently working on expanding the Abraham Accords. “We trust President Trump… He will continue to support our country… He won’t allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and also Israel won’t allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

On the question of extending sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, Zohar was equally firm: “I believe so. I really hope so. It will happen soon.”

Zohar also took a moment to express pride in Israeli culture, congratulating Eurovision contestant Yuval Raphael on her second-place finish. “This is amazing for Israel… I think that we deserve to be first. We finished second, but the public loves our song. But we are okay with the second spot… We will never stop dancing.”