Two Israeli ministers this week put forward proposals for a mass exodus of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, reviving an idea that right-wing politicians have repeatedly floated over the past three years as they try to mobilize supporters ahead of elections.
Calls from two of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political allies have reignited Palestinian fears that Israel ultimately intends to forcibly expel them from Gaza, despite US-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict there.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir presented a seven-year plan Thursday night to evacuate Gaza's population through "voluntary emigration." He said he would push for the establishment of a "ministry of emigration" in the next government.
“Instead of illusions about peace now, we need concrete actions of eviction now,” he said. “Instead of digging tunnels, it is time for them to pack their bags,” he added, alluding to the tunnels that Hamas dug under Gaza before the war.
Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party said on Thursday that Turkey, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were being considered as possible destinations.
Ismail Al-Tawabta, director of the Hamas government's media office, said: "The Palestinian people are deeply rooted in their country and such threats will not intimidate them."
Israel's general elections are scheduled for October 27. They will be the first since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered an Israeli military campaign that devastated much of Gaza, a territory with a population of more than two million.
The October 2025 ceasefire, achieved with the support of the United States, stopped large-scale fighting, but did not lead to a complete cessation of Israeli attacks or progress in developing a plan for a lasting peace.
Fear of a new Nakba
Ben-Gvir's statements followed comments by Defense Minister Israel Katz of Netanyahu's Likud party, who said on Wednesday that "in the end there is no real solution for Gaza without this migration."
"We are fully prepared to move them if it becomes possible - by sea, by air, by any means possible. Egypt is not prepared, so it will not go through them," he said during an online conference.
Polls suggest that Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history, could lose power next month, while his security credibility remains shaken by the 2023 attack. Analysts, however, warn that he should not be written off prematurely.
In 2025, the Israeli Ministry of Defense established an office tasked with overseeing the “voluntary exodus” from Gaza, following statements by US President Donald Trump suggesting that Gazans could be permanently displaced.
Trump later distanced himself from the idea, which faced strong opposition from Arab states and widespread international rejection. Israel has reportedly contacted several African countries considering them as possible resettlement locations.
Netanyahu said he supports what his government describes as "voluntary emigration" from Gaza, but that far-right ministers' goals of re-establishing Jewish settlements in the territory are unrealistic. Israeli officials deny they intend to forcibly relocate Gaza's population.
Calls for the relocation of Gaza residents have sparked fears among Palestinians of a new "Nakba" - a catastrophe, as they call the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes after the 1948 war that followed the establishment of the state of Israel.
The Gaza Strip is central to Palestinian aspirations to establish a state in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Accusations of genocide
Hamas-led attacks in 2023 killed 1.200 people in Israel, while another 251 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
More than 73.000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli military campaign, according to health authorities in Gaza.
A United Nations investigation has concluded that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, stating that the killings, siege and destruction were carried out with the intent to destroy Palestinian life in the enclave.
Israel, which is on trial before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide, rejects the claims as politically motivated and says its military campaign is directed against Hamas, not the civilian population of Gaza.
Ben-Gwir released an AI-generated video this week showing dozens of Palestinian prisoners on a conveyor belt entering a prison facility, only to emerge starving, visibly shaken and in tears.
Ben-Gvir later deleted the video, after it had amassed millions of views on the X platform.
In a crowded displacement camp in Gaza City, some Palestinians said they believed the latest Israeli calls were part of a pre-election strategy.
They also added that Gaza is their country and they will never leave it.
"We will die on the land of Gaza," said one resident, 52-year-old Mohamed Abu Al-Qumbuz. "We were born on it, our children grew up on it, so it is very difficult to even think about leaving."
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