Israel defence minister threatens to evacuate Gaza City if Hamas kidnaps Israeli

On Tuesday, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, warned that if Hamas took one Israeli soldier or civilian hostage, all of the residents of Gaza City would be moved to the south and the city destroyed.

Israeli intelligence indicated that Hamas was contemplating more abductions, Katz said. The warning was made at an annual memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, The Times of Israel reported.

“In light of various intentions and intelligence, I warn the terror organisation and its supporters, from Iran to Erdogan: if even one Israeli soldier or civilian is kidnapped, the entire Gaza City’s one million residents will be evacuated southward,” Katz said.

He said Israel would target the city’s “homes and terror towers” and treat it the same as areas including Rafah and Beit Hanoun.

“This is the language that the jihadist terror organisations in Gaza and Lebanon understand, and this is the language we speak: Evacuating the population, destroying the infrastructure and taking the territory,” Katz said.

Katz also said Israel would not pull back from its current positions in Gaza as long as Hamas remains armed and in control of weapons and tunnels.