Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced Israel would allow Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip as the military prepares a larger offensive in the enclave.
Past suggestions to move Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, particularly from US President Donald Trump, have generated anxiety among Palestinians and outrage from the international community.
In an interview with Israeli channel i24NEWS, as the IDF prepares for a larger operation in Gaza, Netanyahu remarked, “We are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave.”
“Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want,” he said, citing refugee outflows during wars in Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel has for years strictly controlled the borders and prohibited people from leaving.
“We will allow this, first of all, within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well,” Netanyahu said.
For Palestinians, any attempt to push or compel them from the land would evoke the “Nakba”, or catastrophe—the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s establishment in 1948.
Earlier this year, Trump sparked outrage by openly recommending that the United States seize control of Gaza and deport its 2.4 million residents to Egypt and Jordan.
Netanyahu has already stated that his administration is looking for third nations to take in Gaza’s people in response to Trump’s request that they be removed and the land refurbished as a tourist attraction.
Far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s government have advocated for the “voluntary” evacuation of Gazan Palestinians.
Israel’s security council recently approved expanding the conflict to uncontrolled areas of Gaza.
The majority of Gazans have been displaced at least once since Hamas’ October 2023 onslaught on Israel.
