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Israel has prepared plans to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and is waiting for U.S. approval and clarity on where they could be relocated, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.
“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration,” Katz told a conference hosted by Israeli news site Ynet and newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
He said the Israeli government was “organized and prepared to get them out—by sea, by air, by every way possible.”
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier proposed that Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians leave the territory and spoke of redeveloping the devastated Mediterranean enclave as a luxury destination.
Trump later backed away from the proposal following opposition, including from Egypt. Palestinians also rejected the idea, viewing forced removal from Gaza through the memory of the 1948 “Nakba,” or catastrophe.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan announced in October said there would be no forced displacement.
Katz said the migration proposal had only been “frozen” while the U.S. sought countries willing to receive Palestinians, adding that Egypt was not an option.
“The plan hasn’t been cancelled; it is being discussed all the time, even now,” Katz said.
He said U.S. approval could come if Washington determined that Hamas was failing to meet its ceasefire obligations.
Katz also claimed, without identifying a source, that 80% of Gaza residents wanted to leave but were being prevented by Hamas.
Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Separately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops inside Gaza on Wednesday and said Israel would not withdraw from its current positions despite provisions in Trump’s plan calling for a gradual Israeli withdrawal.
“We control the area. We are not retreating. We are staying on this line,” Netanyahu said near the so-called Yellow Line separating areas under Israeli military and Hamas control.
Netanyahu said Israel currently controlled about 60% of the Gaza Strip and warned that “more is on the way.”
He said Israel would ensure Hamas was disarmed and argued that most Israeli objectives had been achieved, although the operation was not finished.
His remarks come ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 elections, with recent opinion polls showing Netanyahu trailing.
Israeli attacks have internally displaced most of Gaza’s population since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which killed 1,221 people according to official Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed 73,470 Palestinians, including more than 1,330 since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes, allegations rejected by Israel and the U.S.
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