Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to “depopulate Gaza City” on Tuesday in case of kidnappings of Israeli citizens or soldiers.
While speaking at a military ceremony on the occasion of Yom Kippur, Katz revealed that there are intelligence indications that Hamas is planning new kidnappings of Israelis. “In light of various intentions and intelligence, I warn the terror organization and its supporters, from Iran to [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan: if even one Israeli soldier or civilian is kidnapped, the entire Gaza City’s … one million residents will be evacuated southward,” he said.
“This is the language that the jihadist terror organizations in Gaza and Lebanon understand, and this is the language we speak,” Katz concluded.