Israeli Defense Minister Katz Says Government Is Ready to Remove Gaza Palestinians, Wants Trump's Sign-Off

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that his government has a plan ready to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and is waiting on President Donald Trump to approve it, according to remarks he made at a conference hosted by the Israeli news site Ynet and the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

"There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration," Katz said. He described Israel as "organized and prepared to get them out — by sea, by air, by every way possible."

From Trump's Resort Idea to a Frozen Plan

Trump called for all roughly 2 million Palestinians to leave Gaza early in his second term, saying the territory, devastated by Israeli bombardment since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, could be redeveloped. At one point he floated a Mediterranean resort concept, according to Arab News and Courthouse News Service, both citing AFP reporting.

Trump backed off the idea after pushback from Egypt, the only country besides Israel that borders Gaza, and from Palestinians who compared any forced removal to the 1948 "Nakba," their mass displacement during Israel's founding. When the White House announced a 20-point ceasefire framework for Gaza in October, it explicitly ruled out forced displacement, according to the Guardian.

Katz insists the plan remains under consideration. "The plan hasn't been canceled; it is being discussed all the time, even now," he said, per Arab News. He said Israel is waiting for a trigger: "When will we get their approval? Whenever it becomes clear that Hamas is not meeting its obligations" under the ceasefire.

Katz also argued that neighboring countries willing to accept displaced Palestinians are holding out for American backing before committing, telling the conference, "Every country that is willing to take them in wants American backing," according to the Guardian. He singled out Egypt as a country lobbying Washington against the plan. The White House did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment on whether Trump is still discussing the proposal. The U.S. Embassy in Israel referred AFP's questions to the State Department.

The 80% Claim Doesn't Hold Up

Katz claimed 80% of Gaza residents want to leave and are being blocked by Hamas, but did not cite a source, according to Courthouse News Service. Common Dreams traced the number to a May 2026 survey by Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli body that administers civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories. That survey found roughly 80% of respondents wanted more information about mechanisms for relocating to a third country through Rafah or Kerem Shalom crossings. This question does not establish they wanted to leave permanently.

Common Dreams also cited separate polling by independent researchers finding that around half or a majority of Gaza's population say they want to stay despite the destruction, a materially different picture than the one Katz presented.

The Legal Question

Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is classified as a war crime under the Geneva Conventions, a legal standard cited by Arab News and Courthouse News Service. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz's predecessor, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes tied to the Gaza campaign. Israel and the United States reject those allegations and do not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction over the case.

The casualty numbers underlying this fight remain stark and contested by nature of their sourcing. Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, according to official Israeli figures cited by Courthouse News Service. Israel's Gaza offensive has since killed 73,470 people, including more than 1,330 since the ceasefire took effect, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas and does not distinguish combatants from civilians in its public tallies.

Election-Season Politics

Katz's comments land in the middle of a competitive Israeli election season in which Netanyahu and his rightwing coalition partners have leaned into tougher rhetoric on Palestinians, according to the Guardian. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted video from a women's prison this week saying he was directly responsible for its harsh conditions and was "pleased" with them, after a prisoner said she wasn't receiving medical care or clean clothing.

Netanyahu, for his part, visited an Israeli military post near Gaza's so-called "yellow line" Wednesday and said Israel will not withdraw until Hamas disarms, regardless of calls for a phased pullback under the ceasefire. "We control the territory and are staying on this line," he said.

What happens next depends entirely on a decision Trump has not made. Katz has publicly staked Israel's plan on the president reversing a position his own peace framework already rejected in writing, and the administration has so far declined to say on the record whether that door is actually open.