Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israeli forces should kill 30 to 40 people in Gaza every night, including people who did not pose an immediate danger. He made the comments in a podcast conversation with former Israeli captive Rom Braslavski that surfaced on Sunday.
Ben-Gvir said he opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to scale back military strikes under the current ceasefire and urged renewed targeted assassinations beyond those considered active threats. He does not have formal authority to order military strikes, but he sits on Israel’s security cabinet, which helps shape war and security policy.
What Ben-Gvir said
Ben-Gvir described some Palestinians in Gaza as “not worthy of life” and said they “shouldn’t live”. He also called for Palestinians to be encouraged to leave Gaza permanently while supporting new Israeli settlement there, saying he viewed “all of Gaza as ours”.
International lawyers have warned that mass, forced or engineered emigration could amount to ethnic cleansing. The comments were shared widely across Palestinian media after the podcast episode surfaced.
Related coverage: Jared Kushner heads to Israel and Egypt amid Gaza plan dispute.
His role in Israel’s government
Ben-Gvir is a member of Netanyahu’s coalition government and controls Israel’s police and prison services. His position gives him influence over domestic security and prison policy, but not direct command of the military.
He has gained influence as Israel approaches elections scheduled for October 27. His remarks follow a long record of extreme statements, including support for a default death penalty for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks on Israelis and claims that he deliberately worsened conditions in prisons holding Palestinian detainees.
Death penalty promise and Gaza toll
During the discussion, Braslavski asked Ben-Gvir to let him personally execute prisoners if Palestinians convicted in military courts under Israel’s recently enacted death penalty law are put to death. Ben-Gvir promised to do everything he could to make that happen.
More context: Mike Huckabee calls Qusra settlers ‘Israeli terrorists’.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,250 people in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold in October, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Ben-Gvir’s record has drawn international criticism; the United Kingdom and some European Union states have sanctioned him, without changing his actions, according to the source material.
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