JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥� An extremist Israeli lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition publicly advocated for killing 鈥�30 to 40鈥� people in Gaza each night, comments that surfaced Sunday and were quickly shared by Palestinian media.
Minister of National Security made the statement while speaking to a former Gaza-held hostage, , on Braslavski’s podcast. The two were discussing Israel’s recovery from the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, when Ben-Gvir criticized Israel’s recent drawdown of strikes in Gaza.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” he said. 鈥淚 think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat 鈥� there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn鈥檛 live. They鈥檙e not even people.鈥�
In the past, similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials were widely condemned. Many have been presented to the UN鈥檚 world court as . Israel denies it has committed genocide in Gaza.
Israel鈥檚 domestic media has made scarce mention of the statement, highlighting how once-fringe ideologies like Ben-Gvir鈥檚 are surging in the leadup to Israeli elections Oct. 27.
Figures like Ben-Gvir have become more popular among Israelis since Hamas鈥� brutal attack in 2023, when the militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. Many hostages have , physical and psychological abuse and, in some cases, .
Ben-Gvir oversees Israel’s police force and prisons
Ben-Gvir does not have power over the country鈥檚 military and cannot order strikes on Gaza. But, after operating for decades within Israel’s far-right fringe, he is now one of the most influential people in the country.
He has substantial control over key parts of Israel鈥檚 security apparatus, running the country鈥檚 prisons 鈥� where thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank are incarcerated 鈥� as well as the national police force.
He has previously boasted of lessening food rations for Palestinian prisoners. Israel鈥檚 top court ruled in 2025 that the prison service under Ben-Gvir was depriving Palestinians of a minimum subsistence diet.
Ben-Gvir criticizes drawdown of Israeli strikes in Gaza
Until recently, Israel was striking Gaza nearly every day, attacks that have killed over 1,250 people since an October truce deal came into effect, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry.
Israel’s military, which says the strikes have targeted Hamas militants, appeared to ease off on the attacks in a quiet concession to U.S. President Donald Trump after Netanyahu rejected the president鈥檚 latest attempt to move the truce forward.
Israeli media last week reported that the authority for carrying out strikes has now been limited to the army鈥檚 chief of staff, raising the ire of right-wing lawmakers such as Ben-Gvir.
Ben Gvir advocates mass emigration, expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza
In the same taped appearance, the lawmaker advocated for mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza 鈥� a proposal that international lawyers say could amount to ethnic cleansing 鈥� and resettlement of Gaza by Israel.
Twenty years ago, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling a block of 21 Jewish settlements known as 鈥淕ush Katif鈥� and pulling out its forces.
鈥淚 see all of Gaza as ours,鈥� said Ben-Gvir in the interview. 鈥淪ettlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries, and for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 latest proposal involves Hamas gradually giving up its weapons while Israeli forces halt their attacks and begin withdrawing from Gaza. Hamas accepted the deal, although the group linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel鈥檚 current government and most of its political class adamantly reject.
Netanyahu says Israel will not retreat from any of its positions in Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed. The stance leaves other elements of the ceasefire, including the deployment of and any reconstruction of the , on hold.
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