Katz said at a Wednesday press conference that the government would implement a plan allowing large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza "at the right time and in the right way". Israel established an office for "voluntary emigration" last year and has eased travel restrictions for Palestinians willing to make one-way trips.
The Israeli government has openly promoted a vision of Gaza without Palestinians since Donald Trump suggested early last year that hundreds of thousands of people should leave the Strip to allow for its reconstruction.
Under a ceasefire signed in October, Israeli forces expelled residents from 50% of the enclave, later extending the occupation to 60% before reaching the current 70%. A so-called yellow line now divides occupied from non-occupied territory, with Palestinians facing lethal risk if they cross it.
Israeli daily Haaretz was critical of the approach. "Instead of finally recognizing the limits of force, the government orders the military to intensify attacks and tighten the occupation", the newspaper wrote, adding that this embodied the Israeli maxim: "What doesn't work with force, works with even more force".
The enclave, home to more than two million people, already faced severe overcrowding before the war. The situation has since worsened dramatically, with a large majority of buildings destroyed and three-quarters of Gaza's residents still living in tents.
Media outlets and human rights organizations have warned that Israeli plans to expel large numbers of Gaza's inhabitants constitute ethnic cleansing, stressing that the forcible displacement of civilian populations is a war crime and a crime against humanity.
More than 900 people have been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire took effect.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio