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Ben-Gvir Calls for Nightly Killings of Palestinians in Gaza — AI-generated representative image: A politician speaks at a podium during a government press conference setting.

Editorial Team

Far-right Israeli minister urges forces to kill 30 to 40 people nightly in Gaza as ceasefire talks and Netanyahu coalition tensions mount.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on Israeli forces to "kill 30 or 40" people in Gaza every night, going beyond those who pose an immediate danger. The comments were made in a podcast conversation with Rom Braslavski, a former Israeli captive held in Gaza, and surfaced on Sunday, drawing widespread circulation across Palestinian media.

Ben-Gvir, who sits in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government and oversees Israel's police and prison services, added that "there are people there who are not worthy of life" and described Palestinians in Gaza as "not even people."

The remarks add to a long record of extreme statements from Ben-Gvir and arrive as Israel heads toward elections scheduled for October 27, a period during which the far-right minister has gained political influence. His position on Israel's security cabinet gives him a role in shaping war and security policy, even though he holds no formal authority over the military and cannot order strikes himself.

The comments carry particular weight amid ongoing violence in Gaza, where more than 1,250 people have been killed since a ceasefire took hold in October, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.

Key Statements and Proposals

Ben-Gvir disagreed with Netanyahu's decision to scale back military strikes under the current ceasefire, instead urging renewed targeted assassinations beyond people considered active threats.
He called for Palestinians to be encouraged to leave Gaza permanently, alongside new Israeli settlement of the territory, telling Braslavski he viewed "all of Gaza as ours."
He promised Braslavski he would seek to allow him to personally take part if prisoners are executed under Israel's recently enacted death penalty law for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks on Israelis.

Historical Context and Record

Ben-Gvir's comments fit a pattern stretching back decades, beginning with his teenage involvement in the outlawed nationalist Kahanist movement. As a minister, he has championed the death penalty as a default sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks and has boasted of deliberately worsening conditions in Israeli prisons holding Palestinian detainees.

International lawyers have warned that mass, forced or engineered emigration of the kind Ben-Gvir advocates could amount to ethnic cleansing. His record has drawn international criticism, and he has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and some European Union states, but these measures have not changed his actions.

Exchange With Former Captive

During the discussion, Braslavski made a direct appeal to Ben-Gvir. "I have a personal request, and I am truly looking you in the eyes, minister. Let me be the one who hangs them," Braslavski said, adding that he did not want a rope but "a button on a gun" to execute "every terrorist in the state of Israel" with his own hands.

Ben-Gvir responded: "I will turn the world upside down to make that happen. I promise you that I will do everything I can and turn the world upside down until it happens."

Current Status and Outlook

Ben-Gvir has no formal authority over the military and cannot order strikes himself, though his seat on the security cabinet places him among senior ministers who help shape war and security policy. As Israel approaches its October 27 elections, his influence within the coalition government has grown.

The podcast comments have circulated widely across Palestinian media, but no official response from the Israeli government or military has yet been confirmed.

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