Israel is ready to move Gaza residents out of the war-ravaged territory if the United States gives the green light, the Jewish state’s defense minister said on Wednesday (September 2). Israel Katz spoke of transfers “by sea and by air”.
“Ultimately, there is no real solution for Gaza without this migration” of its population, declared the minister during a conference organized by the Israeli news site Ynet.
Last year, Donald Trump proposed “cleaning up” by transferring the approximately two million inhabitants of Gaza to countries like Egypt and Jordan, before backpedaling in the face of the outcry caused by these remarks contrary to international law.
Katz seeks support from the United States
According to Israel Katz, the American president “did not give up on his idea, he only suspended it” in the face of pressure from Arab countries. “But the plan is not shelved, it is the subject of constant discussions, even at the moment,” he assured.
Without saying where he got this figure from, Israel Katz also assured that “80% (of Gazans) want to leave”, but that Hamas “prevents them”. The Israeli government is “organized, and ready to get them out by sea, by air, by any means possible,” he added.
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“But for this to happen, we need the United States. When will they agree? When it becomes clear that Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations” in the negotiations around the peace plan defended by the United States, he continued.
Israel Katz has for several months defended such a measure, presented as a voluntary emigration of residents of the Gaza Strip.
His colleague Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance from a far-right party, even proposed in February extending this measure to Palestinians in the West Bank.
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The forced displacement of a civilian population is, however, a war crime under international law.
In Gaza, most residents were displaced by the destructive war launched by Israel following the unprecedented October 7 attacks by Hamas, which left more than 1,200 people dead on Israeli soil.
Over the past three years, more than 73,000 people have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health placed under the authority of Hamas and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
“We will not withdraw,” says Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, affirmed on Wednesday, during a rare visit to the Gaza Strip, that his country had no intention of withdrawing from the areas it controls in this war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
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“We control the area. We will not withdraw. We remain on this line. We control 60% of the Gaza Strip and we will not stop, because we eliminate, day after day, the terrorists who threaten us,” he said.
Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking after meeting soldiers near the “yellow line” which demarcates the area under Israeli military control, after the withdrawal of Israeli troops carried out as part of the very fragile ceasefire, in force since October 2025.
With AFP
