Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday threatened to destroy all that remains of Gaza City and force around a million Gazans to evacuate if Hamas, provoked by Iran or Turkey, takes a single Israeli hostage. Katz said he was responding to the growing threat of possible aggressive actions by Iran, Türkiye and their proxies, including Hamas. The defense minister said such threats were the only way to deter Israel’s jihadist enemies from attacking. Katz’s threat may make life more difficult for Israeli lawyers trying to defend the Jewish state in The Hague against accusations of genocide and war crimes to convince judges that Israel’s leaders respect the proportionality rules of international law. Furthermore, in the public relations sphere, critics of Israel can use his statement to reinforce the accusations they recently conveyed through the documentary NAZA, although the film itself reportedly provides few specific and concrete incidents. Additionally, Katz said the IDF would not make any partial withdrawals. from the 63% of Gaza that the army currently controls to 53%, or approximately 30% or 15%, until Hamas is completely disarmed. This statement will likely hold true at least until the US midterm elections on November 3. After that date, however, the Trump administration will renew its pressure for Israel to make partial withdrawals from Gaza in exchange for Hamas taking partial disarmament actions, according to numerous public hints from US foreign affairs envoy Jared. Kushner.
