Deportation flights for Palestinians in Gaza have already started, an Israeli minister said [Getty]
Israel has started its plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, with deportation flights already commencing from Ramon Airport, Israel’s interior minister, Moshe Arbel, said on Monday.
Arbel announced that more than 16 flights carrying Palestinians from Gaza had departed from Ramon Airport, in what appears to be a state-backed effort to forcibly remove Palestinian residents from the besieged enclave under the guise of “voluntary migration”.
“I can say that this will likely increase in the coming period,” the minister added.
He did not, however, specify the aircraft’s size or capacity, the number of passengers from the Gaza Strip, or their destination.
His remarks were the latest indication of Israel’s intent to empty Gaza of its population, amid a war that has already killed over 61,700 Palestinians and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents.
While Israel keeps referring to its plan as “voluntary migration”, human rights organisations and Palestinian advocates have condemned it as an attempted mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing – a clear violation of international law.
Trump’s plan
When asked whether the expulsion plan first proposed under US President Donald Trump could succeed, Arbel said: “We provide services to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Ministry of Defense.
“We supply the tools to carry out this mission. I can say there is significant movement among people in Gaza who are not involved in terrorism and who simply want to live and raise their children in peace.”
He further claimed that there was “a very strong desire to emigrate to Europe or other countries”, adding that Israel was working with border authorities and Israeli authorities in the West Bank to coordinate safe passage from Gaza to Ramon Airport, where third-party countries – especially in Europe – would then take over air transportation.
Israeli human rights sources suggest that many of those referenced by Arbel hold dual citizenship.
Last Friday, Haaretz reported that a senior political figure accompanying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s delegation to Hungary had confirmed that Israel was actively negotiating with more than one country to receive Palestinians from Gaza.
“Israel is very serious about carrying out Trump’s plan to transfer Gaza’s population to other countries,” the unnamed source said, adding that some governments have agreed in principle but are demanding strategic concessions in return, not just money.
Asked about the broader strategy for Gaza, the source stated: “Our priorities are rescuing the hostages, eliminating Hamas, and creating real opportunities for voluntary emigration.”
He claimed that prior to the war, 60 percent of Palestinians in Gaza expressed a desire to leave in polls.
“We’re talking about over a million people,” he said. “Gaza lies in ruins because of Hamas, not us. We are moving forward with this plan.”
In recent weeks, reports have also emerged that the US and Israel have approached countries including Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland to explore options for relocating Palestinians expelled from Gaza.
This comes amid wider political tensions in Israel. Arbel acknowledged that far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich had threatened to bring down Netanyahu’s coalition if a captive deal with Hamas was finalised.
Despite that, he said: “The Israeli government ultimately chose to prioritise the lives of the hostages. Even with potential coalition fallout, we acted to bring them home.”
The latest developments come against a backdrop of anger at Netanyahu, with critics and the families of captives held in Gaza stating he was putting his political interests first.
Israel has in recent weeks escalated its attacks on Gaza, targeting hospitals, journalists, and makeshift shelters as well as aid workers.
