Defence minister says Israel ready to remove Palestinians from Gaza if U.S. gives go ahead

Israel prepared to remove Palestinians from Gaza if U.S. approves, defence minister says

Officials describe move as 'voluntary' but Palestinians fear forced expulsion, which would be war crime

Israel is waiting for U.S. approval to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday, resurfacing a plan that has been widely condemned as forced displacement and described as ethnic cleansing.

Katz, speaking at a news conference hosted by Israeli news site Ynet and newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, said Israel is ready to facilitate what has been described as "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians in Gaza "by any means."

Palestinians in Gaza have mostly rejected the idea, fearing it will result in their forced expulsion.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israeli National Security Minister and far-right Jewish Power party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir will unveil the plan on Thursday, which will reportedly remove Palestinians over the span of seven years.

Ben-Gvir — who has been sanctioned by Ottawa over repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities — is expected to present the plan dubbed "Disengagement 710" as part of his campaign in October's legislative elections.

Pending U.S. backing, Katz described the move as necessary, insisting the issue at hand is finding countries to take the Palestinians in.

"There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration," Katz said.

Katz said the Israeli government "is organized and prepared to get them out — by sea, by air, by every way possible," according to the Times of Israel.

The comments come nearly three years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and led to about 250 being taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's ensuing assault on Gaza has killed more than 73,400, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and left much of the enclave in ruins.

In February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump pitched the idea of taking ownership of the territory and permanently displacing its residents before turning it into the "Riviera of the Middle East," which at the time was met with unified anger and concern.

Trump later appeared to abandon the idea, and in January 2026 established the "Board of Peace" to ostensibly handle the resolution of violence and reconstruction in Gaza, although the board has made little progress.

Katz claims Trump has not abandoned the plan, but has merely "frozen it" due to pressure from Arab states, the Times of Israel reported.

Forcible deportation 'manifestly illegal': UN

In response to Trump's remarks in February 2025, United Nations experts warned that moving or forcibly relocating Palestinians would violate international law.

"It is manifestly illegal to invade and annex foreign territory by force, to forcibly deport its population, and to deprive the Palestinian people of their inalienable right to self-determination," they said in 2025.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner raised concern over ethnic cleansing by Israeli authorities in both Gaza and the West Bank this past February. It said the increase of reported attacks and forcible transfers "appear aimed at a permanent displacement of Palestinians throughout the occupied territories."

Many Palestinians in Gaza refuse to leave their homes despite dire living conditions after Israel's two-year offensive in the enclave left roughly two million people displaced and living in crowded makeshift tent camps. Families have been left to deal with widespread destruction, severe water shortages and acute food insecurity.

"We were born and raised in Gaza, we will die and be buried in Gaza," Umm Yusuf Shabat, a 55-year-old mother and grandmother, told a freelance videographer with CBC News in the legislative district west of Gaza City.

"There is no immigration by any means. It is enough, the displacement we went through. No matter what happens, we will not [be displaced] again."

Muhammad Abu Jibbeh, 39, echoed Shabat's remarks, saying he refuses to leave.

"Ultimately, this is our homeland … we are going to remain steadfast and we will not leave our land and we utterly reject the idea of leaving the country or migrating," Abu Jibbeh said.

Gaza stuck in ‘humanitarian purgatory’ 9 months into ceasefire

Others say the living conditions have made it impossible to bear or envision a future in the war-torn territory. The Israel Defence Forces currently control up to 70 per cent of Gaza, according to Israeli sources cited in a July report.

Abdul Rahman Al-Turk, 28, says he has been displaced seven times within Gaza since the war began in October 2023. He says water and bread shortages persist, making it difficult to get by.

"We are tired. When we have the first chance to leave the country, we will take it," Al-Turk told CBC News.

"There is no future here. There is no work, no construction, nothing. What do we want to do in this country? If the solution is migration, then get us out."

Latest Trump plan notes no displacement

Despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, which halted the large-scale fighting that had devastated the enclave, Israeli strikes and raids continue in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 1,300 civilians have died since then.

The 20-point peace plan, agreed upon by Israel and Hamas in October 2025, did not call for Palestinians’ displacement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Trump's new 15-point peace plan last month, saying Israel will not withdraw forces until Hamas ⁠⁠fully disarms. Trump's plan states that nobody will be forced to leave the Gaza Strip under Clause 13, which calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal.

Israel rejects Trump’s 15-point Gaza peace plan

Hamas formally dissolved its primary civilian governing body in July but maintains it will only disarm after a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

Katz's remarks this week drew a sharp rebuke from Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who condemned the plan.

"After our trip to the Gaza-Egypt border last year, [Sen. Jeff Merkley] and I released a report entitled, 'The Netanyahu Government is Implementing a Plan to Ethnically Cleanse Gaza of Palestinians,'" Van Hollen said in a post on X.

"Now the Israeli [Ministry] of Defence confirmed that's the goal. We must end our complicity."

Sara Jabakhanji is a Toronto-based senior writer assigned to cover news developments in the Middle East. She has worked in CBC bureaus in Ottawa, London and Toronto. You can reach her at sara.jabakhanji@cbc.ca.

With files from Mohamed El Saife