Another Israeli minister calls for encouraging Palestinians to leave Gaza

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu on Friday called for encouraging Palestinians to migrate from Gaza, where his country's forces have killed more than 22,000 people.

Speaking to a local radio station, Eliyahu, who has extremist rhetoric against Palestinians, said Israel must break the "national dream" of the Palestinians, "and that's what we must do."

The far-right politician said since the Palestinians "slaughtered us on Oct. 7, so they must not be there [in Gaza]."

"We must find ways for Gazans that are more painful than death," he added.

In November, Eliyahu said dropping a “nuclear bomb” on the Gaza Strip is “an option.”

Many countries have rejected calls by Israeli officials, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for pushing Palestinians to leave the blockaded enclave.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,600 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,910 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas incursion.

The onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara