Ben Gvir calls for the annihilation of Gaza: "They are not human"

Gaza – Agencies: The Gaza Center for Human Rights condemned yesterday the statements of Israeli extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, describing them as a clear affirmation of the premeditated intent to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and annihilate them. In a statement, the Center emphasized that Ben-Gvir’s call for intensive nighttime air raids on Gaza, his remark that the occupation is capable of “eliminating 30, 40, or 50 terrorists” each night, alongside his characterization of the Strip’s residents as “not human” and “not needing to live,” constitutes blatant incitement to genocide. The Center pointed out that these remarks are not spontaneous, but rather part of a pattern of repeated calls by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials to displace Gaza’s population and fully settle the Strip. The most recent such statement came in July 2026, when he declared that “Gaza is ours,” along with his explicit support for the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners. The Center warned of the danger posed by these statements, particularly because they come from an Israeli official who wields broad authority over the police, settlement activities, and internal security. It considered these remarks clear indicators of an intent to destroy Palestinians as a national group, falling within the scope of direct and public incitement to commit genocide under international law.

Meanwhile, Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas’s political bureau, traveled to Cairo to hold talks with Egyptian officials ahead of the visit to the region by U.S. envoy Jared Kushner, according to a source within the movement. This will be Mashal’s first visit to Egypt since he assumed leadership of Hamas in late July, and he is scheduled to meet with Egyptian General Intelligence Service chief Hassan Rashad. Kushner will visit Israel and Egypt next week in an attempt to bridge differences regarding a plan for Gaza, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected. Kushner will be accompanied on the trip by Nikolai Mladenov, the High Representative for Gaza affairs in the so-called “Peace Council” established by U.S. President Donald Trump. This follows Netanyahu’s rejection of a 15-point plan announced by Mladenov, under which Hamas agreed to hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian committee tasked with administering the Gaza Strip. A source from the “Peace Council” stated that Kushner and Mladenov hope to hold “constructive talks” on advancing Trump’s broader peace plan, which began with a ceasefire announcement in October 2025 that reduced the pace of Israeli strikes on Gaza without bringing them to an end.