Gaza City expulsion threatened if Israeli abducted

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Tuesday to force all Gaza City residents south if any Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted in the future.

Speaking at a memorial for the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Katz said “the entire city of Gaza” would be evacuated with its million residents if one Israeli were kidnapped. He also threatened destruction of infrastructure and taking control of territory.

Gaza City has about 1.1 million people, according to the municipality. The Gaza Strip has about two million people, many of whom have been repeatedly displaced during nearly three years of war.

The Geneva Conventions prohibit the forced displacement of civilians. Katz's remarks also threatened infrastructure destruction in the territory.

Hamas led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel in which militants killed 1,221 people and took 251 hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli official figures. Israeli figures say 44 of those hostages were already dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 73,919 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas and whose figures are generally considered reliable.

Katz also said Israel could strike Iran again if needed. His remarks came before October 27 elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces opposition criticism over the October 7 attack and the war's outcome.