Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said that Israel is prepared to “finish the job” in Gaza and reaffirmed his support for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, which he refers to as “migration.”
Katz made the comments while discussing the October 2025 ceasefire deal, which Israel has constantly violated with daily attacks that have killed over 1,300 Palestinians since the agreement was signed.
According to The Times of Israel, Katz said that 70% of Gaza has already been emptied of its Palestinian population and that the October 2025 deal had “supreme value for all Israelis” by leading to the return of remaining hostages and ensuring “a commitment by the United States” to disarming Hamas.
“We all understand that this (disarmament) 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,” he added.
Back in July, Katz said that even if Hamas does disarm, Israel wouldn’t withdraw from Gaza and would begin establishing “Nahal outposts,” a type of Jewish settlement in Israeli-occupied territory that are first populated by Israeli soldiers with the goal of transitioning them to permanent civilian communities.
Last month, the Israeli minister said that ethnic cleansing was the only “solution” for Gaza. “There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without migration,” he said. “The moment will come. When will it come? When it becomes clear that Hamas is not meeting its commitment. Then we will get a green light to move forward militarily, territorially, and in other areas, and this thing will gain momentum.”
