Gaza Palestinians to be removed under plan, Katz says

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that Israel would resume full-scale war in Gaza to eliminate Hamas and then implement a plan to remove Palestinians from the territory.

Katz, responding to criticism from another right-wing contender ahead of October 27 elections, said 70% of Gaza had already been emptied of its population during Israel's offensive after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

He said an October 2025 ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump had “supreme value for all Israelis” because it led to the return of remaining hostages and included what he described as a US commitment to disarming Hamas.

“We all understand that this is not going to happen -- and the IDF is prepared, once given the directive to eliminate Hamas, to finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan,” Katz said, referring to the Israeli military.

Katz said earlier this month that Israel was ready to remove Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land, but was waiting for the United States, which he said was discussing where the two million people would go. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee has denied any plan to “displace people out of Gaza against their will”. Katz has described the migration plan as voluntary.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been internally displaced and most of the territory lies in rubble after the war. The Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, and militants took 251 hostages to Gaza.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,700 people, according to the territory's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, and the United Nations considers its figures reliable.

The ceasefire has reduced the level of violence, but Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry says 1,375 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect.

Hamas said in late July that it was ready to disarm, which Trump described as a breakthrough. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the latest stage of the plan and said there would be no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas verifiably decommissions all weapons.