Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is facing fresh backlash after claiming, on a podcast, that pushing Palestinians out of Gaza would actually be helping them. "Conditions for people in Gaza aren't good. I want to send them out of Gaza. I'm humanitarian, okay? I'm doing them a favor. I'm getting them out of there," he said. The far-right minister went further, arguing the mass departure of Gaza's population would directly benefit Israel too, claiming fewer Palestinians in the territory would translate into "more lives for us." He then pivoted to describing what he sees as Gaza's future once emptied of its residents, floating settlement construction and calling the territory a potential "real-estate arena" and "beautiful coastal gem."

The comments are the latest in a long pattern for Ben-Gvir, who has pushed voluntary migration schemes for Gaza's population since the October 7, 2023 attack and has repeatedly opposed humanitarian aid deliveries, arguing they mainly strengthen Hamas rather than help civilians. He does not command Israel's military and cannot unilaterally order policy on Gaza, but as a senior member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, his remarks carry political weight and have previously drawn condemnation from human rights groups and foreign governments alike. Critics argue that framing forced displacement as a humanitarian gesture obscures the reality facing Gaza's roughly two million residents, most of whom have already been repeatedly displaced by the war. Israel maintains it is not pursuing a policy of forced expulsion, even as ministers within its own government continue to publicly float exactly that.