The senior official explained that Tel Aviv was “very serious” about implementing President Donald Trump’s plan to cleanse Gaza.
An Israeli official made it clear that Tel Aviv plans to expel the Palestinians from Gaza after the hostages are freed and Hamas is eliminated. Throughout the conflict, the Israeli Prime Minister publicly claimed the goals of military operations in Gaza were returning Israeli captives and removing Hamas from power.
According to Haaretz, a senior Israeli official who is traveling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained, “What we would like to see is that we rescue the hostages, eliminate Hamas, and that there is a large-scale opportunity for voluntary migration.”
Israeli officials have used the phrase “voluntary migration” to describe Tel Aviv’s process of removing all Palestinians from Gaza. After President Donald Trump returned to office, he declared that all Palestinians should be removed from Gaza and resettled in other countries.
Since October 7, 2023, Prime Minister Netanyahu has said his war aims were only to eliminate Hamas and return the hostages, denying that Israel’s objective was genocide.
On Thursday, The Times of Israel reported that Hamas again offered to release all captives in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. The outlet explained that Tel Aviv has a “longstanding rejection” to this type of deal.
The senior official speaking with Haaretz said that at this point, Israel is focused on applying military pressure on Hamas. “Who says the enemy won’t break? Some captors may want to escape, allowing us to extract people,” they said.
Over the past 18 months, the vast majority of the living Israelis that were freed were released by Hamas during the two ceasefire periods. Scores of hostages have died in Gaza, including some killed by Israeli bombs and soldiers.
When the senior official was asked if Tel Aviv was concerned that resuming the fighting in Gaza will lead to the deaths of more captives, they explained, “It doesn’t matter if they die – it does, it’s terrible, but they are suffering.”
The official said that Tel Aviv was “very serious” about implementing Trump’s plan. Last month, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to find countries to take in Gazans once they are expelled from Israel.
In recent weeks, a number of countries have been approached by Washington or Tel Aviv about resetting Palestinians. So far, all those nations have rejected the proposal or denied that an offer was made.
The senior official said some of the countries were receptive but looking for something in return. “They want something in return – not necessarily money, but also something strategic,” they explained.
