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.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")