JERUSALEM – A far-right Israeli lawmaker serving in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition has called publicly for the killing of “30 to 40” people in Gaza every night, remarks that emerged Sunday and were swiftly amplified by Palestinian media outlets.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made the comments during an appearance on a podcast hosted by Rom Braslavski, a former hostage held in Gaza. Their conversation centered on Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, with Ben-Gvir faulting what he described as Israel’s recent reduction in strikes on Gaza.
“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” Ben-Gvir said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”
Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials have faced broad international criticism in the past for similar rhetoric. Such statements have also been cited before the United Nations’ top court as alleged evidence of genocidal intent. Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.
The remarks have drawn limited coverage in Israeli domestic media, a silence that underscores how political views once confined to the far-right margins have gained traction ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 elections.
Ben-Gvir’s rise reflects a broader shift in Israeli politics since Hamas’ 2023 assault, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. Survivors of captivity have described prolonged starvation, physical and psychological abuse and, in some cases, sexual abuse.
Ben-Gvir oversees Israel’s police force and prisons
Although Ben-Gvir has no authority over Israel’s military and cannot direct strikes in Gaza, his political influence has grown dramatically. After decades on the outer edges of Israel’s far right, he now holds one of the country’s most powerful domestic security posts.
He has substantial control over key parts of Israel’s security apparatus, running the country’s prisons — where thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank are incarcerated — as well as the national police force.
He has previously boasted of lessening food rations for Palestinian prisoners. Israel’s top court ruled in 2025 that the prison service under Ben-Gvir was depriving Palestinians of a minimum subsistence diet.
Ben-Gvir criticizes drawdown of Israeli strikes in Gaza
Until recently, Israel was striking Gaza nearly every day, attacks that have killed over 1,250 people since an October truce deal came into effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel’s military, which says the strikes have targeted Hamas militants, appeared to ease off on the attacks in a quiet concession to U.S. President Donald Trump after Netanyahu rejected the president’s latest attempt to move the truce forward.
Israeli media last week reported that the authority for carrying out strikes has now been limited to the army’s chief of staff, raising the ire of right-wing lawmakers such as Ben-Gvir.
Ben Gvir advocates mass emigration, expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza
In the same taped appearance, the lawmaker advocated for mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza — a proposal that international lawyers say could amount to ethnic cleansing — and resettlement of Gaza by Israel.
Twenty years ago, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling a block of 21 Jewish settlements known as “Gush Katif” and pulling out its forces.
“I see all of Gaza as ours,” said Ben-Gvir in the interview. “Settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries, and for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.”
Trump’s latest proposal involves Hamas gradually giving up its weapons while Israeli forces halt their attacks and begin withdrawing from Gaza. Hamas accepted the deal, although the group linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s current government and most of its political class adamantly reject.
Netanyahu says Israel will not retreat from any of its positions in Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed. The stance leaves other elements of the ceasefire, including the deployment of international forces and any reconstruction of the devastated territory, on hold.
