Far-right Israeli ministers escalated their advocacy for the wholesale removal of Palestinians from Gaza last week, proposing explicit timelines and governmental mechanisms for what critics describe as illegal forced expulsions, even as displacement, demolitions, and killings continued across the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. These pronouncements signal a hardening of rhetoric from within the Israeli government regarding the future of the Palestinian population in Gaza, raising international alarm.
The escalating calls for depopulation emerged against a backdrop of ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared on Wednesday that removing Palestinians from Gaza is "the only solution," asserting Israel’s readiness to achieve this "by sea, by air and by every way possible." Katz also suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump has merely "frozen" rather than canceled his support for such an idea, a claim that drew immediate attention from Washington.
Adding to the intense discourse, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir unveiled a seven-year plan, dubbed "Disengagement 710," aimed at facilitating the departure of Gaza’s approximately two million residents through what he termed "voluntary emigration." Ben-Gvir further indicated that, should he be re-elected, he would establish a dedicated Migration Ministry to oversee the expulsion of Palestinians. These proposals represent a significant departure from stated international policy and humanitarian concerns.
The U.S. State Department responded by stating it "does not support any plan or proposal for the forced displacement, expulsion, or mandatory transfer of the population of Gaza." However, the statement stopped short of directly condemning the specific ministers or their proposals, leaving the international community to interpret the implications of this nuanced response.
Gaza’s Escalating Death Toll Amidst Persistent Airstrikes
The Gaza Strip has continued to experience a devastating rise in its death toll due to near-daily Israeli airstrikes and military operations. On Tuesday, an Israeli special forces raid near Gaza City’s American hospital resulted in the deaths of at least four Palestinians, including two children and a woman. The operation concluded with the capture of Moin al-Arabeed, whom Israel identified as the head of Hamas’s internal security apparatus.
Further casualties mounted throughout the week. A drone strike on Wednesday claimed the life of a child in the Jabalia refugee camp, occurring on the same day an attack on a tent in Khan Younis resulted in one fatality. On Thursday, two Palestinians, one aged 13, were killed near Beit Lahia after Israel stated they had crossed into an Israeli-controlled area. A separate drone strike that day killed a man near a church compound in Gaza City’s Remal neighborhood.
The violence persisted through the weekend. On Sunday, Israeli attacks near a school in Gaza City wounded several individuals. In a separate incident, a drone strike on a car near the Hamid intersection in Gaza City killed Youssef Akila and his young daughter, Wafaa.
Continued Fatalities and Recovered Bodies Under Rubble
The grim tally of casualties continued to climb. Before dawn on Monday, at least five more Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including three-year-old Saadi Ghalia, who died when an artillery shell struck a school in Deir el-Balah that was sheltering displaced people. By Monday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported a cumulative total of 73,658 deaths and 174,622 wounded since October 2023. This figure includes 160 additional deaths certified and added to the casualty count in the preceding days, with over 1,340 fatalities recorded since the Israeli-Hamas "ceasefire" in October 2025.
Alongside the ongoing killings, the recovery of bodies from the rubble has been a slow and arduous process. Families in northern Gaza held funerals on Sunday for approximately 100 individuals, 60 of whom were children, whose remains were recovered from the debris of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Many of the deceased were identified as members of the extended Malaka family.
Raed al-Dahshan, Gaza’s civil defense chief, informed Al Jazeera that his teams estimate 8,000 more bodies could be recovered within 90 days if provided with adequate heavy equipment. He cautioned, however, that without such resources, the recovery effort could extend for years. An estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people remain unaccounted for and are believed to be buried beneath Gaza’s rubble.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens Amidst Infrastructure Collapse
The humanitarian conditions within the Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate significantly due to insufficient aid distribution. The World Health Organization has issued stark warnings regarding the escalating water contamination levels, noting a nearly threefold increase since January. The Palestinian Water Authority reported that all five of Gaza’s wastewater treatment plants have ceased operations entirely. Consequently, approximately 55,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage are being discharged daily into the environment, posing severe public health risks.
West Bank: Pervasive Demolitions and Villages Under Siege
Concurrently, Israeli forces have intensified demolition activities across the West Bank. In the community of Khirbet al-Tabban, located in Masafer Yatta, demolitions were described as absolute, with all 12 remaining homes destroyed, rendering 70 residents, including 30 children, homeless. "It’s wiping the village off the face of the earth," stated council head Nidal Younis, though residents have vowed to rebuild.
Further destruction occurred in the Hebron area, where Israeli forces demolished four water wells and several greenhouses in Beit Ummar, inflicting an estimated $60,000 in losses. A home was also demolished in Nahalin, within the Bethlehem governorate. Near Jenin, the bulldozing of hundreds of farmers’ trees along the Arraba-Yabad and Jenin-Nablus roads continued, part of a broader campaign involving six military orders issued in August to clear vegetation from four villages in the Jenin area, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
In occupied East Jerusalem’s al-Bustan neighborhood, municipal bulldozers demolished a four-apartment building, marking the 60th demolition in the area since October 2023, according to community representative Fakhri Abu Diab. Another home was demolished in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina on Monday morning, and authorities compelled a Palestinian man in the Jabal al-Mukaber area to demolish his own home.
Escalating Violence and Settler Aggression in the West Bank
The most sustained violence in the West Bank last week centered on al-Mughayyir, a village northeast of Ramallah. Settlers and Israeli soldiers raided the village on Wednesday evening, following accusations of livestock theft. During the raid, snipers took rooftop positions and opened fire as residents attempted to prevent settlers from stealing sheep. This resulted in the deaths of Khalil Abu Alia, aged 16, and Mohammad Nassan, aged 19.
The Israeli military stated that troops were "securing the retrieval of livestock belonging to Israeli civilians" when a "violent riot" erupted and soldiers "fired at key instigators." Eyewitnesses, however, reported that Nassan was shot in the back. In the aftermath, mourners were subjected to physical altercations and pepper-spraying, with their vehicles stolen. An ambulance was also reportedly attacked.
Wafa news agency also reported late Sunday that Israeli settlers killed Omar Tubasi, 20, and injured three others when they raided and opened fire on the village of Hajja, east of Qalqilya governorate. Elsewhere, settlers stormed Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills on Friday, injuring a child. Arriving soldiers declared the area a closed military zone, enforced for Palestinians but not for the settlers who remained.
In Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, a settler wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the outlawed Kach movement was filmed atop a Palestinian home, proclaiming "this land is Jewish." This incident occurred shortly after U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee visited the town and described settler violence as "a form of terrorism."
Ongoing Sieges and Fatal Encounters
In Qusra, south of Nablus, a month-long siege of three homes continued, with the army initially blocking approximately 100 peace activists from delivering essential food and medicine. Settlers also reportedly stole water tanks and livestock in the Jordan Valley and sabotaged water lines serving a Bedouin encampment near Tayasir in the northern West Bank, according to reports from local Palestinian activists.
In East Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli police shot and killed Ibrahim al-Hendi, 33, from Beit Hanina, near Damascus Gate on Friday. Authorities claimed he had attempted to stab an officer. The incident occurred as the Israeli army continued to block aid for Qusra.
The repeated acts of demolition, displacement, and violence underscore the escalating tensions and the dire humanitarian situation faced by Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank. The pronouncements from Israeli ministers regarding the depopulation of Gaza add a new and deeply concerning dimension to the ongoing conflict, drawing significant international scrutiny and calls for adherence to international law.
