Israeli Defence Minister Katz: 'No real solution for Gaza' without Palestinian migration, vows military 'green light' to move population out

Israel's defence minister said out loud what Israeli officials have spent months trying to rename.

Speaking on Wednesday to journalist Moran Azoulay at a conference hosted by the Israeli outlet Ynet and the Israel Democracy Institute, Israel Katz said Palestinians will leave Gaza, and that Israel is prepared to make it happen by force if diplomacy does not.

"There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without migration."

Katz described a trigger point tied to Hamas. "The moment will come. When will it come? When it becomes clear that Hamas is not meeting its commitment. Then we will get a green light to move forward militarily, territorially, and in other areas, and this thing will gain momentum," he said, describing the removal of Gaza's population as a matter of timing rather than principle.

Katz claimed public support for the idea, citing surveys: "80 percent want to migrate, it's checked constantly." The figure traces to a May survey by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a unit inside Katz's own defence ministry, which found roughly 80 percent of Gazans surveyed said they were interested in receiving information about relocation mechanisms through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. That is a narrower finding than active willingness to migrate, and the discrepancy is unresolved.

Asked why Palestinians have not already left, Katz blamed Hamas and the absence of receiving countries. "We are fully prepared to move them out if it becomes possible, by sea, by air, by every way possible. Egypt is not willing, so it won't be through them," he said, adding that prospective host countries are waiting on Washington: "Currently, President Trump didn't cancel this; he froze it."

The language shift is documented in Israeli media. Channel 13 reported that at the end of June, Israel dropped the term "voluntary migration" in favor of "Freedom of Movement Plan," and that security officials and the Mossad were instructed to stop using the earlier phrase after it drew international criticism. Haaretz reported that National Security Council head Shmuel Ben Ezra convened an urgent meeting on encouraging Palestinians to leave Gaza, and that Mossad officials conceded they had not yet found a country willing to accept displaced Palestinians.

Katz's own words undercut the rebrand. He did not describe a voluntary program. He described a conditional, military-backed expulsion awaiting only a green light and a destination.