Katz speaks again about Israel's plan to displace Gaza's residents

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that “the army is ready to eliminate Hamas in order to accomplish the mission in Gaza, and then implement a migration plan” in the sector, which is home to two million Palestinians.

In a statement posted on his social media accounts on Wednesday, Katz said, “Rafah and 70 percent of the Gaza Strip have been evacuated of their residents, and the tunnels and homes have been destroyed.”

Katz’s remarks came in response to criticism from Ofer Winter, a Knesset candidate and former colonel, who posted a sarcastic comment following the Israeli army’s announcement on Tuesday of the killing of Nael Abu Ubaida, commander of the Rafah Brigade in Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza.

Winter had questioned why a Hamas brigade commander was present in Rafah despite “three years of war and five military divisions that fought in Gaza.”

Katz said, “The Israeli army is ready, once it receives the order to eliminate Hamas, to complete the mission so that we can also implement the migration plan.”

Katz had previously stated in September that Israel was prepared to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza by sea and by land, but was awaiting assistance from the United States, which, according to him, was exploring potential countries to receive them.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denied the existence of any plan aimed at “moving people out of Gaza against their will.”