Palestine weekly: Israeli ministers push for depopulation of Gaza

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that far-right Israeli ministers spent last week arguing more openly for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, shifting what it described as forced-displacement ideas from rhetoric toward policy proposals. The article said Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference on Wednesday that clearing Gaza of Palestinians was the “only solution,” while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir promoted a seven-year plan called “Disengagement 710” and said he would create a Migration Ministry if re-elected. The US State Department said it opposed any forced displacement or mandatory transfer of Gaza’s population, but Al Jazeera noted it did not directly single out the ministers.

The report linked those political statements to continuing violence in Gaza, where airstrikes and drone attacks killed and wounded more Palestinians over the week, including children, according to the article. It said the Palestinian Ministry of Health updated the death toll to 73,658 killed and 174,622 wounded since October 2023, with more than 1,340 deaths recorded since the October 2025 ceasefire. Al Jazeera also described widespread destruction, missing persons under the rubble, and worsening water and sewage conditions.

In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the piece said Israeli forces and settlers continued demolitions, raids and attacks. It cited the destruction of homes in Masafer Yatta, Bethlehem and East Jerusalem, as well as violence in villages including al-Mughayyir and Hajja, where Palestinians were killed. The broader significance, according to the report, is the combination of political pressure for mass displacement and the ongoing ground reality of displacement, demolition and casualties across Palestinian territory.