Israel ‘organised and prepared’ to remove Gaza population if US gives green light, Katz

Israel has plans ready to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip but is waiting for the United States to figure out where to take them, the defence minister said Wednesday. "There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration," Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference hosted by Israeli news site Ynet and newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. The Israeli government "is organised and prepared to get them out – by sea, by air, by every way possible", he said. The US embassy referred requests for comment to the State Department in Washington. US President Donald Trump, at the start of his second term, stunned much of the world by calling for all two million Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip. Trump spoke of developing the Mediterranean territory, devastated by Israeli bombardment since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, into a luxury resort destination. Read moreTrump says US will take over Gaza Strip, create 'Riviera of the Middle East' Trump walked back the idea following strong pushback, including from Egypt – the only country other than Israel to border Gaza. The proposal was also condemned by Palestinians themselves, for whom any effort to force them off their la...