Israeli minister calls for 30-40 ‘targeted assassinations’ in Gaza per night

Itamar Ben-Gvir has once again called for more military action in the Palestinian enclave

Israel should carry out 30 to 40 “targeted assassinations” in Gaza every night, National Security Minister and prominent war hawk Itamar Ben-Gvir has said, claiming that some in the Palestinian enclave “are not people.”

While a claimed ceasefire is supposed to have been in effect over Gaza, Israel has continued air strikes while negotiations stalled over the issue of disarmament by Hamas and the withdrawal of the IDF from the territory.

In a podcast interview Saturday, Ben-Gvir reiterated his opposition to the reduced level of Israeli military operations under the armistice.

“We need to carry out targeted assassinations in Gaza, taking down 30-40 every night. Not just those who endanger you at that moment,” he said.

There are people there who are not human beings. They don’t need to live, they are not people.

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The minister, who oversees Israel’s police, also reiterated his support for Israeli settlement in Gaza, and for pushing Palestinians to leave the territory.

“In my imagination, I see all of Gaza as ours, very consolidated settlements, throughout Gaza,” he said.

Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Ben-Gvir has consistently advocated policies well to the right of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including harsher conditions for Palestinian prisoners and the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism.

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Far-right parties including Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power and Finance Minster Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism were instrumental in Netanyahu’s return to power in 2022 and in the formation of his coalition government.

West Jerusalem’s hardline policies and conduct in Gaza have generated widespread international condemnation, while Netanyahu’s push for military action against Iran has further strained perceptions of the Jewish State in the US, its most important ally.

A Pew Research Center survey published in June found that 60% of Americans had an unfavorable view of Israel, compared with 42% in 2022. Across 36 countries surveyed by the pollster, majorities in most expressed unfavorable views of Israel, including 68% in France, 69% in the UK and 73% in Germany.