Israeli Minister Calls for Killing 40 Gazans per Night
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has once again drawn condemnation after calling for an escalation of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. He demanded that dozens of Palestinians be killed every day.
The leader of the far-right Jewish Power party said Israel should not limit its strikes only to people deemed to pose an immediate threat. In an interview, Ben-Gvir called for large-scale airstrikes across the entire Gaza Strip and said that “30 to 40 Gazans” should be killed in strikes every night.
Ben-Gvir also stated that Palestinians not directly involved in the fighting should not be exempted from attacks. He even said there are people who “do not deserve to live” and described them as “not human at all.”
In the interview quoted by the Jerusalem Post, Ben-Gvir referred to a woman who had once given food to Rom Braslavski while he was being held in Gaza. He called the woman a “terrorist” and said she “needs to be shot in the head.”
Braslavski is an Israeli soldier who was captured on 7 October 2023 and later released in a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel on 13 October 2025. Ben-Gvir also called for people he described as “terrorists” in Gaza to be “killed one by one.”
In addition to calling for broader strikes, Ben-Gvir again pushed for the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza.
“I consider all of Gaza to be ours,” he said, while stressing that Israeli settlements should not only be built in the former Gush Katif area evacuated by Israel in 2005, but should cover the entire Gaza Strip.
Ben-Gvir also called for as many Palestinians as possible to leave Gaza voluntarily. He also expressed satisfaction with the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, while Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups estimate that around 9,500 Palestinians, including women and children, are now in Israeli prisons.
He also demanded that Israeli human rights groups that promote coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, such as Peace Now and Standing Together, be banned from operating. Ben-Gvir accused these groups of supporting terrorism, without providing any evidence for the allegation.