According to ‘Israel’s’ defence minister, Israel Katz, Hamas is supposedly planning to abduct Israeli occupation soldiers in the Gaza Strip. His claim comes as the genocidal Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continue to illegally occupy Gaza. Along with Shin Bet, the IOF has stepped up its campaign over the last few weeks, of targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders. The latest to be killed was Hamas Finance Department Chief Muhammad Abu Alwan, who was martyred on 23 September. Katz said of Abu Alwan’s killing:

We continue to pursue Hamas commanders and operatives, to strike at its sources of funding, and to destroy its terrorist infrastructure,

The previous day, on 22 September, Katz stood at a war memorial on Mount Herzl, and threatened to force a million Palestinians out of their homes and level what is left behind, if any ‘Israeli’ soldier was kidnapped by Hamas.

Katz threatens collective punishment for Gaza residents

According to Jerusalem News Syndicate (JNS), Katz was addressing a memorial crowd for the 1973 Yom Kipper War, when he said:

If even one Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted, the city of Gaza — with its homes and terrorist towers — will be evacuated southward of its one million residents.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning to Hamas on Tuesday against attempting to kidnap a soldier or a civilian, during an address at a memorial ceremony for the fallen of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.https://t.co/fvAkvzOoCa

— Jerusalem News Syndicate (@JNS_org) September 22, 2026

Israeli occupation minister boasts of reducing 70 percent of Gaza to rubble

He said the city would then get the same treatment as Rafah and Beit Hanoun, and that roughly 70 percent of Gaza has already been dealt with this way. Both of these cities have been flattened to the ground by Israeli occupation forces during its genocide in Gaza.

Only in ‘Israel’ would a senior government minister feel confident enough to stand up in public and promise the forced removal and destruction of an entire city, home to over a million people, as a contingency plan. Forced displacement of civilians and the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. But this is not the first time Katz has openly talked about expelling Palestinians.

In July, he unveiled a plan. This was to round up the entire population of Gaza into a fenced “humanitarian city” built on Rafah’s rubble. He said they would be screened at checkpoints on the way in, and not allowed to leave once inside. Even Katz himself admitted that the aim was to eventually push people to “voluntarily emigrate” out of the Strip altogether.

It’s all part of ‘Israel’s’ plan of ethnic cleansing and colonisation

None of this is happening in isolation. A so-called ‘ceasefire’ agreement has been in place for almost a year now. But ‘Israel’ continues killing Palestinians every day, and intentionally continues to make the living conditions as unbearable as possible. This is so Gaza’s residents have no option but to leave Palestine. By October 2025, more than 80 percent of all structures in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed. And, according to Gaza’s civil defence, 2000 buildings in the Strip remain liable to collapse.

According to the UN, Gaza is now at “total breaking point“. The population continues to face a humanitarian crisis, while living amid widespread destruction, displacement, shortages of essential supplies, and ongoing insecurity. The UN reports that shelters are overcrowded, and housing inadequate. There is also limited access to safe water and sanitation. And shortages of medicines and fuel are placing immense pressure on already fragile health services.

The spread of infectious diseases, including respiratory infections, diarrhoea and skin infections, continue to raise serious concern. And shortages of equipment and materials are hampering efforts to repair damaged infrastructure and prepare for winter. Humanitarian operations are limited by funding shortfalls and ‘Israel’s’ continued restrictions on the entry of essential supplies — including shelters and heavy machinery. This means almost everyone in Gaza remains dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Katz hopes talk of forced expulsion appeals to Israeli voters

Katz’s most recent threat to the people of Gaza was delivered from a war memorial podium. It was timed just weeks before an election, where the government needs to look tough rather than accountable. This is to satisfy the majority of Israelis. In a 2025 survey, 82 percent of Jewish-Israeli respondents supported expelling Palestinian residents out of Gaza to other countries.

Katz did not stop at Gaza, either. In the same speech he boasted about Israel’s February strike on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior officials. He also promised another strike, if ‘Israel’ decides it is necessary, saying:

The job is not yet done, and if we need to, we will strike a third time as well until the terror regime is toppled and removed.

Pervasive climate of impunity

The reason why, in the same breath, Katz threatened a government’s collapse and the erasure of a city is because of a “pervasive climate of impunity.” detailed in a UN report. This allows him and others in the apartheid state to threaten and carry out acts of violence with no consequences.

The report accuses ‘Israeli’ authorities in the occupied Palestinian territory of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law. But it states that “no meaningful steps“ were taken by ‘Israel’s’ justice system” or the international community to hold Israeli officials or settlers accountable for violations.

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former minister of defense Yoav Gallant — for war crimes and crimes against humanity — are still active. But these are worthless if powerful governments treat them as a political inconvenience instead of something they should enforce.

The West’s decision not to take effective action against ‘Israel’

Governments have expressed concern, issued statements and then carried on as before. This is how impunity survives. So ‘Israel’ continues to commit atrocities, and faces no justice whatsoever.

Katz made his threats publicly, as Israel’s defence minister. He said about a million people could be driven from Gaza City and the city itself could be destroyed if just one Israeli soldier or civilian were abducted.

That should cause an outcry. But, as yet, it has not. So these ‘Israeli’ ministers have no reason to believe their threats of mass displacement and destruction will cost them anything. And the governments claiming to defend international law are left looking like accomplices to the crimes they claim to oppose.

According to the Gaza’s Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the October 2025 ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, the IOF has killed 1,402 Palestinians, as of 23 September 2026. This figure brings the death toll to 73,922.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

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