Ben-Gvir calls for killing 30 to 40 Palestinians in Gaza every night

Israel's far-right national security minister makes extraordinary comments in a recorded interview while calling for mass Palestinian emigration and Israeli settlement of Gaza

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for 30 to 40 Palestinians to be killed every night in Gaza, arguing that Israel should carry out targeted assassinations on a far greater scale.

The extraordinary comments were made during a recorded podcast interview with former Gaza hostage Rom Braslavski and surfaced publicly on Sunday.

Ben-Gvir was discussing Israel's military campaign against Hamas when he criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing the intensity of strikes on Gaza to fall.

“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” Ben-Gvir said, before arguing that Israel should be killing dozens of people in Gaza every night.

“They’re not even people”

Ben-Gvir went considerably further than simply calling for attacks against Hamas commanders.

He said the targets should not be restricted to people posing an immediate threat, claiming there were people in Gaza who were “not worthy of life”.

“They shouldn’t live,” he said, adding: “They’re not even people.”

The remarks are likely to provoke renewed international condemnation and could add to existing accusations that statements by Israeli officials demonstrate genocidal intent.

Israel strongly rejects allegations that it has committed genocide in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir does not control the Israeli military

Despite the extraordinary nature of the comments, Ben-Gvir does not have the authority to order the Israeli military to carry out strikes.

Military operations are controlled by Israel's defence establishment and armed forces rather than the national security minister.

However, Ben-Gvir is far from an irrelevant political outsider.

Once regarded as part of Israel's political fringe, he has become one of the most influential figures in Netanyahu's governing coalition and has repeatedly pushed the government towards a harder line on Gaza.

He wants Palestinians out of Gaza

Ben-Gvir's comments were not limited to military action.

During the same interview, he called for encouraging the mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and advocated rebuilding Israeli settlements across the territory.

“I see all of Gaza as ours,” he said.

He called for settlements throughout Gaza and for Palestinians to be encouraged to leave for other countries.

For alleged terrorists, however, he offered no such option.

His position was that they should simply be killed.

A return to Israeli settlements?

The comments represent a dramatic vision for Gaza.

Israel withdrew its troops and dismantled its 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005, ending decades of Israeli settlement there.

Ben-Gvir now advocates reversing that policy and establishing Israeli communities throughout the territory.

International lawyers and rights organisations have warned that forcibly removing a civilian population could amount to ethnic cleansing.

Ben-Gvir's proposal to encourage mass emigration therefore carries potentially enormous legal and diplomatic consequences.

His influence extends beyond Gaza

Ben-Gvir's political power also extends into Israel's internal security apparatus.

As national security minister, he oversees the country's police and prison system, including facilities holding thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

He has previously faced criticism over conditions in Palestinian detention facilities, including allegations that food restrictions were imposed on prisoners.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that the prison service under Ben-Gvir had failed to provide Palestinian prisoners with the minimum required subsistence diet.

Israel's strikes have already killed thousands

The remarks come against the backdrop of a devastating war in Gaza.

Gaza health authorities say Israeli military operations have killed more than 100,000 Palestinians over the course of the conflict, although Israel disputes the way casualty figures are presented and says its operations target Hamas militants.

More than 1,250 people have reportedly been killed in Israeli strikes since the October truce agreement, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The Israeli military maintains that its strikes are directed at Hamas targets.

Ben-Gvir is now pushing against Netanyahu

The latest comments also reveal another political battle inside Israel.

Ben-Gvir has become increasingly critical of Netanyahu whenever he believes the prime minister is failing to pursue a sufficiently aggressive policy towards Hamas.

Reports that authority for launching strikes had been tightened further around Israel's military leadership reportedly angered Ben-Gvir and other right-wing politicians.

His latest intervention therefore serves two purposes.

It is a call for a far more aggressive military campaign — and a public warning to Netanyahu that the Israeli right wants no retreat from Gaza.

The rhetoric is becoming increasingly extreme

Ben-Gvir's supporters see his uncompromising position as proof that he will not compromise over Israel's security.

His opponents see something much more dangerous: a senior government minister publicly advocating mass killings and the removal of an entire population.

Whatever happens next in Gaza, Ben-Gvir's remarks will intensify scrutiny of the Israeli government's intentions.

He does not command the military.

But he sits at the heart of Netanyahu's coalition and has substantial influence over Israel's internal security forces.

And his message is unmistakable.

He wants Gaza emptied of Palestinians, Israeli settlements restored and dozens of people killed every night — a position that could further widen the already enormous divide between Israel's far right and much of the international community.

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Sheeez what a horrible person

The really important bit here is that he's inside Netanyahu's government, not some bloke shouting from a protest outside the Knesset.

Just goes to show how far Netanyahu is prepared to accommodate the hard right while dealing with Trump, the war, and international pressure.