Senior Israeli official calls for killing of “30 to 40” people in Gaza every night: “They’re not even people”

Israeli Security Minister Advocates Nightly Targeted Killings in Gaza

Wertynews.com – Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, told a weekend podcast that his country should eliminate between 30 and 40 individuals each night through targeted assassinations across the Gaza Strip. Speaking on the show hosted by Rom Braslavski — a former hostage held in Gaza — Ben-Gvir laid out his disagreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the scale of military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory.

“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister … I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night.”

The cabinet member went further, specifying that the killings need not be limited to those presenting an imminent danger.

“Not just those who pose an immediate threat. There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”

Settlements and Forced Emigration

Ben-Gvir also outlined a vision for Gaza’s future that echoes the territory’s earlier history. Israel once maintained a cluster of 21 settlements called Gush Katif within the enclave, but withdrew settlers and troops from the area roughly two decades ago. In the taped interview, the minister declared his ambition to reverse that withdrawal entirely.

“I see all of Gaza as ours. Settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries. And for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.”

Legal scholars and the United Nations Secretary-General have cautioned that compelling Palestinians to abandon Gaza could constitute ethnic cleansing. Israel’s sprawling settlement network in the occupied West Bank — the larger of the two Palestinian territories — is regarded as unlawful by the U.N., the International Court of Justice, and numerous other states and bodies. The current Israeli government nonetheless has pushed forward with new construction there and contests the illegality of most existing settlements.

International Reactions

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi took to X on Monday to respond to the remarks.

“These confessions must be recorded and preserved for the day of reckoning and trial of these criminals.”

Comparable statements by Ben-Gvir and other senior Israeli figures have been submitted to the U.N. as proof of alleged genocidal intent behind Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The minister has long been a figure of international controversy. In May, Netanyahu — who formed his coalition government with the backing of far-right lawmakers including Ben-Gvir — publicly chastised his security chief after footage surfaced showing how pro-Palestinian flotilla activists were treated while in custody.

Five longstanding American allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom — imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir last year, citing his role in inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Spain joined the sanctions later in 2025. This year, Ireland and France barred him from entering their borders.

A History of Controversy

Ben-Gvir adheres to Kahanism, a movement named for a long-deceased rabbi who championed violent ethnonationalism and called for expelling Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank. His first public moment of notoriety arrived in 1995, when he removed the Cadillac emblem from the car of then-Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin — a figure despised by the Israeli far-right for signing the Oslo Peace Accords with the Palestinians. Holding the badge before a television camera, Ben-Gvir declared:

“Just as we got to his car, we will get to him.”

Rabin was assassinated weeks later by a Jewish far-right nationalist. Over the years, Ben-Gvir has faced multiple police encounters and court proceedings, including a conviction for inciting racism tied to his participation in attacks on Arabs and his support of a Jewish nationalist terror cell.

Although he holds no authority over Israel’s military operations, Ben-Gvir oversees the country’s prisons and national police force, and has boasted of cutting food rations for Palestinian detainees.

Military Context

Until recently, Israel had been carrying out strikes in Gaza on most days. According to health officials in the Hamas-administered territory, more than 1,250 people have been killed since a truce took effect in October. Israel appears to have scaled back its attacks in what looks like a concession to President Trump, following Netanyahu’s rejection of a U.S.-backed peace plan for Gaza last week.