Israel’s defence minister said Wednesday it was only a matter of time before the country resumes full-scale war in Gaza.
Israel Katz, responding to criticism from another right-wing contender ahead of October 27 elections, said the Israeli military was prepared, once directed to eliminate Hamas, to “finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan.”
Katz said 70 per cent of Gaza had already been emptied of its population during the offensive Israel launched after the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. He described an October 2025 ceasefire as having “supreme value for all Israelis” by leading to the return of remaining hostages and ensuring “a commitment by the United States” to disarming Hamas.
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 2 million people would go. He characterised the departure as voluntary, saying most Palestinians wanted to leave. US ambassador Mike Huckabee has denied any plan to “displace people out of Gaza against their will.”
Nearly all of Gaza’s population has been internally displaced and most of the territory lies in rubble. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the latest stage of the ceasefire plan, saying there would be no Israeli withdrawal until Hamas verifiably decommissions all weapons.
The October 7, 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Israeli official figures, and militants took 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 73,700 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, and whose figures the United Nations considers reliable.
While the 11-month-old ceasefire has reduced the level of violence, Israel has continued to carry out strikes. 1,375 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect, the Gaza health ministry said. Hamas said in late July it was ready to disarm, in what Trump hailed as a breakthrough.
Israeli elections are scheduled for October 27.