Palestinians who remain in Gaza City will be treated as ‘terrorists’: Israeli defence minister
Israel Katz has said Palestinians who remain in Gaza City will be considered “terrorists and supporters of terror” unless they leave the area.
Legal experts have previously warned that such statements amount to collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law.
Defence Minister Israel Katz made the comments on X as he announced Israeli forces had completed the capture of the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the enclave into north and south.
“This will tighten the siege around Gaza City, and anyone leaving it south will be forced to pass through [Israeli military] checkpoints,” Katz wrote, calling it a “last chance” for civilians to move south.
He added that those who remain in Gaza City would face Israeli military operations “at full strength,” as the army continues its campaign to return captives and disarm Hamas.
Israeli defence minister Gaza City threat shows ‘genocidal intent’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned statements by Israel’s defence minister that all Palestinians who remain in Gaza City will be considered “terrorists and terror supporters”.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s national deputy director, said the comments amounted to a threat of extermination and a violation of international law.
“We strongly condemn the Israeli defense minister’s declaration that the cowardly war criminals of his regime will treat everyone unable or unwilling to leave their homes in Gaza City as a ‘terrorist,’” Mitchell said in a statement.
“Threatening to kill every man, woman and child who remains in Gaza City constitutes a clear violation of international law and another chilling indication of genocidal intent. The world must not stand by in silence.”
Mitchell called on the US government to immediately condemn the remarks and end military aid to Israel. “Our government must immediately and unequivocally condemn this clear statement to commit genocide and take action to prevent further Israeli crimes against humanity,” he said.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz made the remarks earlier today, saying those who remain in Gaza will be considered “terrorists and terror supporters”.
Palestinian rights groups condemn US ‘ultimatum’ on Gaza ceasefire
A coalition of Palestinian human rights organisations has condemned an “ultimatum” issued by the United States, saying it conditions the suspension of Israel’s assault on Gaza on terms that “entrench and normalise” occupation.
In a statement, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) called the 20-point plan from the Trump administration “a grave violation of international law and an outright assault on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people”.
“While PHROC welcomes all genuine efforts to end the genocide in Gaza, the US plan does not aim to end Israel’s settler colonial apartheid regime and unlawful occupation but rather to entrench and normalize it,” the statement said.
The group accused Washington of “rewarding Israel’s systematic crimes of apartheid, persecution, and genocide” and condemned the silence over Palestinian detainees.
PHROC urged states to reject the plan as “a manifest breach” of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, insisting that any settlement must dismantle Israel’s occupation and apartheid system.
