Katz says Gaza could be depopulated

Israel’s defence minister has threatened to destroy Gaza and relocate its 1 million residents if Hamas abducts even one more Israeli.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas was planning further abductions of Israelis and that, if this happened, Gaza City would be depopulated and destroyed, The Times of Israel quotes him as saying.

“If even one Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted, the entire Gaza City, with its one million residents, will be evacuated to the south,”

- Israel Katz said. 

The Israeli defence minister addressed the warning, citing intelligence, to supporters of Hamas, Iran, as well as Türkiye and its President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

He also threatened to destroy “houses and towers of terror” in Gaza, saying the city could suffer the same fate as other areas of the Gaza Strip that have been almost completely destroyed by the Israeli army.