Israeli minister Ben Gvir calls for killing 30 to 40 Palestinians nightly in Gaza, says some "are not even people"

Remarks on the podcast

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for targeted killings of 30 to 40 Palestinians each night in Gaza, in a podcast published on Sunday, 16 August 2026. The podcast, titled "8 de octubre," is hosted by Rom Braslavski, a former Hamas hostage held in the Strip. Ben Gvir said the killings should not be limited to those posing an immediate threat.

I believe targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, eliminating between 30 and 40 people each night. Not only those who represent an immediate threat; there are people there who do not deserve to live. They should not live. They are not even people.

Disagreement with Netanyahu

Ben Gvir used the podcast to publicly disagree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has reduced Israeli attacks on Gaza to advance a peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump. The minister said it was no secret that he holds a different view from the prime minister. Ben Gvir has no authority over the Israeli army and cannot order military operations; as Minister of National Security he controls the national police and the prison system, where thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank are held.

Call for settlements and mass displacement

Ben Gvir also called for the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the establishment of Jewish settlements across the entire Strip, not only in the former Gush Katif bloc, which Israel dismantled 20 years ago in 2005 when it withdrew its troops and removed 21 Jewish settlements. He said all of Gaza belongs to Israel.

I consider all of Gaza to be ours. We should have settlements not only in Gush Katif, but in all of Gaza, promoting the greatest possible emigration, sending them to their countries of origin; and as for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, simply kill them one by one.

International and legal context

Ben Gvir's remarks were quickly shared by Palestinian media on 16 August 2026. Israel's own media had given the story little attention, according to Die Welt. His past statements have been presented before the International Court of Justice as possible evidence of "genocidal intent," an accusation Israel rejects. International lawyers have assessed that mass displacement of the kind Ben Gvir advocates could amount to ethnic cleansing. A former militant of the Kach movement, which Israel itself designated a terrorist organization, Ben Gvir did not complete military service due to his extremist links. His positions have drawn condemnation from much of the international community, including the United States, but he has faced no consequences because his backing is needed to sustain Netanyahu's government.