“They Don’t Need to Live,” Minister Says.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir drew widespread condemnation after describing Gaza’s population as “not human” during a recent interview, saying they “don’t need to live” and claiming he was doing them a favor by even calling them human. In the same interview, Ben Gvir called for intensified nightly Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, claiming Israeli forces could “eliminate 30, 40, or 50 terrorists” every night. A Palestinian rights center said in a statement that Ben Gvir’s remarks amount to explicit incitement to genocide, pointing to the combination of dehumanizing language and an open call for lethal nightly strikes as clear evidence of premeditated intent.
A Pattern of Explicit Calls for Killing and Displacement.
The remarks are the latest in a long pattern of similarly extreme statements from Ben Gvir. He has separately rejected the draft roadmap published by the Board of Peace for implementing the ceasefire’s second phase, calling it unacceptable for Israel and insisting that assassination operations in Gaza must continue alongside efforts to encourage emigration from the Strip, saying Israel must achieve “victory.” He has also called for the execution of Palestinian detainees by gunshot to the head, and vowed that, in his words, every Hamas member’s blood is “on his own head” since October 7, 2023.
Rights Groups Call for International Accountability.
The rights center urged the international community to take responsibility and impose deterrent sanctions on officials found to be inciting violence, calling for a halt to any support that could be used to carry out such threats. It also called on the International Criminal Court to include Ben Gvir’s statements as evidence in its ongoing investigation into the situation in Palestine. The center’s statement came alongside field developments in southern Gaza, where the body of a child, Suhail Shalouf, was recovered after he was killed by Israeli gunfire on Taina Street, south of Khan Younis — an area that has repeatedly come under Israeli fire due to its proximity to Israeli-controlled zones.
Ben Gvir’s comments come as Israel’s own government remains internally divided over how to proceed with Gaza’s ceasefire agreement, with the minister positioned firmly against continuing negotiations or de-escalation. His remarks add to a growing body of statements from senior Israeli officials that rights organizations and legal experts argue could serve as evidence in international genocide proceedings, given their explicit and repeated nature regarding the treatment of Gaza’s civilian population.