Israeli Minister: Palestinians Leaving Is Only 'Solution' In Gaza

During an interview on Wednesday with the Israeli news site Ynet and the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Katz said that Israel was ready to begin removing Palestinians from the territory as soon as Trump gives the order.

“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration,” Katz said.

He claimed that“80% [of Palestinians in Gaza] want to migrate; it's checked constantly in surveys.”

Katz did not specify which“surveys” he was referring to. But one May 2026 survey by Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli body that administers civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, showed that nearly 80% of residents said they wanted additional information about mechanisms for relocating to a third country through Rafah or Kerem Shalom. The reported question did not establish that they wanted to leave permanently.

Other surveys of Gaza's residents conducted by independent pollsters have found that around half, or a majority of the population, want to stay in the territory despite the destruction and deprivation they face.

Katz said the Israeli government was“fully prepared to move [Palestinians] out if it becomes possible-by sea, by air, by every way possible.”

“What's delaying it is that the accepting countries want US support,” Katz said.“Every country that is willing wants American backing. Currently, President Trump didn't cancel this; he froze it. All the Arab countries came to him due to their pressure on this matter.”

Katz said“the moment will come” when“it becomes clear that Hamas is not meeting its commitment” to the Phase 2 disarmament-and-withdrawal roadmap agreed to by the Palestinian militant group in July, building on the October 2025 ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel.

Israel has claimed that the deal required Hamas to totally disarm before Israel withdrew any troops it had advanced past last October's ceasefire line in violation of the agreement. The roadmap Hamas agreed to explicitly stated that Israel's withdrawal would occur at the same time as disarmament.