Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the only “real solution” for Gaza was the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population, which he calls “migration,” and vowed that Israel will achieve this goal.
“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without migration,” Katz told reporters at a conference hosted by the Israeli news site Ynet, according to Middle East Eye.
“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,” Katz added.
While accusing Hamas of “not meeting its commitments,” Israel has constantly violated the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire deal and has rejected a US proposal for a deal under which Hamas would give up its weapons. Katz has previously 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.
In his comments on Wednesday, Katz acknowledged Israel’s main obstacle to carrying out the ethnic cleansing of Gaza was the lack of countries willing to facilitate it and take in Palestinians from Gaza, though he suggested it could happen with US support. “We are fully prepared to move them out if it becomes possible – by sea, by air, by every way possible. Egypt is not willing, so it won’t be through them,” he said.
“What’s delaying it is that the accepting countries want US support. Every country that is willing wants American backing. Currently, President Trump didn’t cancel this; he froze it. All the Arab countries came to him due to their pressure on this matter,” Katz added.
Katz has been openly advocating for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza since early 2025, around the same time President Trump began saying that Palestinians should leave Gaza, though it’s been clear from the start of Israel’s genocidal war that the Israeli government’s ultimate goal.
