Israel defence minister announces agency for 'voluntary departure' of Gazans

Israel defence minister announces agency for 'voluntary departure' of Gazans
by AFP Staff Writers
Jerusalem (AFP) Feb 17, 2025

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said Monday that a special agency would be established for the "voluntary departure" of Gazans, after Israel expressed commitment to a US proposal to take over the Palestinian territory and expel its residents.

"Defence Minister Israel Katz held a meeting today (Monday) on the voluntary departure of Gaza residents, at the end of which he decided that a directorate for the voluntary departure of Gaza residents would be established within the ministry of defence", a ministry statement said.

Earlier this month, Katz said he had ordered the army to formulate a plan to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza, adding that he welcomed "Trump's bold plan, which could allow a large portion of Gaza's population to relocate to various places around the world".

An initial plan presented during the meeting on Monday "includes extensive assistance that will allow any Gaza resident who wishes to emigrate voluntarily to a third country to receive a comprehensive package, which includes, among other things, special departure arrangements via sea, air, and land", the statement added.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "committed to US President Donald Trump's plan for the creation of a different Gaza", also promising that after the war, "there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority" ruling the territory.

Trump's repeated proposal for a US "takeover" of Gaza and the resettlement of Palestinians in other countries such as Egypt and Jordan lacks detail but has triggered widespread international outrage.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza Strip's deadliest war and resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,284 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

More than 15 months of war destroyed or damaged more than 69 percent of Gaza's buildings, displaced almost the entire population, and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.