Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to evacuate Gaza City and destroy infrastructure if an Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted in the future.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened Tuesday to force the population of Gaza City south and destroy infrastructure in the city if an Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted in the future, issuing the warning as the Gaza war approaches its third anniversary.
Speaking at a memorial commemorating the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Katz said Israel would respond to any future abduction by emptying Gaza City, where municipal figures put the population at around 1.1 million.
“If a single Israeli soldier or civilian is kidnapped, the entire city of Gaza, with its houses and terror towers, will be evacuated southward with its million residents,” Katz said, according to Agence France-Presse.
He directed the warning at Hamas and its supporters, while also referring to Iran and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a prominent critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Katz said Israel’s approach would involve “evacuation of the population, destruction of infrastructure and taking over the territory,” also invoking Hezbollah in Lebanon.
AFP noted that forced displacement of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure can constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.
The Gaza Strip has a population of roughly two million people, according to AFP, with residents now concentrated in about 30% of the territory not controlled by Israel.
The war began after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which 1,221 people were killed and around 251 hostages were taken into Gaza, according to Israeli official figures cited by AFP. Those figures include 44 hostages who were already dead.
Israel responded with a large-scale military campaign in Gaza that has displaced virtually the entire population at least once.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 73,919 people have been killed during the Israeli offensive. AFP said the ministry operates under Hamas and that its casualty figures are generally considered reliable.
Katz has previously said Israel agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire declaration in October 2025 primarily to secure the release of remaining hostages. Israel has continued lower-intensity strikes since then, and Katz has said he expects full-scale war in Gaza could resume.
His latest remarks come ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 elections, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing opposition criticism over both the failure to prevent the Oct. 7 attack and the results of the military campaign that followed.
Katz used the same speech to issue another warning toward Iran, saying Israel’s conflict with Tehran was not necessarily over.
“The work is not yet finished,” he said, threatening further military action if Israel considered it necessary.
The United States and Israel jointly attacked Iran in late February, with the initial Israeli strike killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to AFP.
Israel halted its campaign in April after US President Donald Trump entered a ceasefire process and sought a negotiated settlement.
The conflict has contributed to a sharp rise in oil prices and, according to AFP, has been unpopular among US voters.
Katz’s remarks therefore extended beyond Gaza, combining warnings toward Hamas and Hezbollah with a renewed threat against Iran at a time when several regional conflicts remain closely interconnected.