Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an ultranationalist and former convict, has publicly called for the killing of between 30 and 40 people each night in Gaza in a podcast recently published with Rom Braslavski, who was a Hamas hostage in the Strip. "I believe targeted killings should be carried out in Gaza, eliminating between 30 and 40 people each night," Ben Gvir said in the programme titled "October 8th".
Ben Gvir stated in the podcast that he disagrees with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to reduce attacks on Gaza to advance the peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump. Ben Gvir, who has no authority over the Israeli military, also advocated for "mass migration of Palestinians" from Gaza to allow Jewish settlements in the Strip.
The minister stated that "all of Gaza is ours" and proposed encouraging as much Palestinian emigration as possible to their countries of origin, while regarding those he described as terrorists he proposed to "simply kill them one by one". International organisations have characterised similar proposals as attempts at "ethnic cleansing".
Statements such as those made by Ben Gvir, as well as those from other Israeli officials, have been presented to the United Nations International Court of Justice as evidence of Israel's "genocidal intent" in Gaza, which Israeli leaders deny. Ben Gvir, a settler in occupied West Bank, controls the Israeli police and prisons where Palestinians have reported numerous cases of torture.
Since joining the government in 2022, the number of gun licences issued to Israeli civilians, a responsibility under his ministerial control, increased by 126 per cent. In May 2026, Ben Gvir was involved in another episode of international controversy when he humiliated activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla who were detained in Israel, distributing a video in which he appeared smiling while waving an Israeli flag as the activists remained handcuffed and kneeling on the ground.