In the shadow of an ongoing ceasefire and approaching elections, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has publicly called for the systematic nightly killing of Palestinians in Gaza irrespective of any immediate threat they pose — language that strips human dignity from an entire population and places extrajudicial mass killing at the center of political discourse. His remarks, made on a podcast and amplified across Palestinian media, are not the fringe utterances of a peripheral figure but the stated convictions of a man who sits at the table where war policy is shaped
Israeli Minister Calls for Nightly Killings of Dozens in Gaza
Over 1,250 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October ceasefire; minister advocates systematic extrajudicial killings and forced displacement of civilian population.
I will turn the world upside down to make that happen.
Mark
When a minister sits on the security cabinet but has no direct military authority, how much actual power does he wield?
Mimi
He shapes the conversation. He influences the ministers who do have authority. He sets the tone for what's politically acceptable to discuss. That matters enormously in a coalition government where you need consensus.
Mark
The podcast was with a former captive. Why would Ben-Gvir speak so openly about this?
Mimi
Because he wasn't speaking to critics or journalists. He was speaking to someone he believed shared his worldview—someone who had suffered in Gaza and might be sympathetic. He was performing for an audience he thought would agree.
Mark
The dehumanizing language—calling people "not even people"—is that rhetoric or does it reflect actual policy?
Mimi
It's both. The language justifies the policy. Once you've decided someone isn't a person, killing them becomes categorically different. It's not murder; it's removal.
Mark
Why does international sanctioning seem to have no effect?
Mimi
Because sanctions without enforcement are symbolic. They don't cost him anything material. His government doesn't isolate him for it. His coalition partners don't force him out. So he has no incentive to change.
Mark
What does "encouraged to leave" mean in practice?
Mimi
It means creating conditions so intolerable that people choose to go. It means siege, it means restricted resources, it means making life unsustainable. The word "encouraged" is doing a lot of work there.
Mark
Is there any mechanism that could actually constrain him?
Mimi
Domestic political pressure, or a coalition partner withdrawing support. International courts could indict him, but Israel doesn't recognize their jurisdiction. The real constraint would have to come from inside Israel's own political system.
The Pulse
- A senior Israeli cabinet minister has called for killing 30 to 40 Palestinians in Gaza every night, not as a response to threat, but as a matter of declared principle — describing the population as 'not even people.'
- The remarks, made in conversation with a former Israeli captive who expressed a personal desire to execute Palestinians himself, reveal a political environment in which eliminationist rhetoric is exchanged casually between public figures.
- Ben-Gvir's position on the security cabinet gives his ideology real weight in wartime decisions, even as he publicly pressures Netanyahu to abandon the ceasefire and resume targeted killings beyond active combatants.
- International sanctions from the UK and EU have been imposed but have produced no change in Ben-Gvir's conduct, leaving legal experts warning that his stated policies — mass killing and forced displacement — meet the threshold of ethnic cleansing under international law.
- With Israeli elections set for October 27, Ben-Gvir's influence is expanding rather than contracting, and more than 1,250 Palestinians have already been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began in October.
In the shadow of an ongoing ceasefire and approaching elections, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has publicly called for the systematic nightly killing of Palestinians in Gaza irrespective of any immediate threat they pose — language that strips human dignity from an entire population and places extrajudicial mass killing at the center of political discourse. His remarks, made on a podcast and amplified across Palestinian media, are not the fringe utterances of a peripheral figure but the stated convictions of a man who sits at the table where war policy is shaped. In the long arc of history, such moments mark the distance a society has traveled from the norms it once claimed to uphold — and how swiftly that distance can become irreversible.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right National Security Minister, has publicly called for Israeli forces to kill between 30 and 40 Palestinians in Gaza each night — not in response to active threats, but as a systematic policy. The remarks surfaced in a podcast with Rom Braslavski, a former Israeli captive, and spread widely through Palestinian media. Ben-Gvir described Palestinians as people 'not worthy of life' and 'not even people,' framing mass killing as a matter of ideology rather than security necessity.
Ben-Gvir holds a seat on Israel's security cabinet, giving him genuine influence over war policy even without direct military command. He has been openly critical of Netanyahu's decision to scale back operations under the current ceasefire, and advocates for resuming targeted assassinations that would extend well beyond active combatants. With elections approaching on October 27, his political standing appears to be growing.
The podcast also revealed the extent of his alignment with Braslavski around a recently enacted death penalty law for Palestinians convicted in military courts. When Braslavski said he wanted to personally execute 'every terrorist in the state of Israel,' Ben-Gvir promised to do everything in his power to make that possible.
Ben-Gvir further articulated a vision for Gaza centered on Palestinian displacement, declaring 'all of Gaza as ours' and calling for Palestinians to be permanently pushed out as Israeli settlements expand. International legal experts have described such policies as potential ethnic cleansing. His history with the outlawed Kahanist movement and his boasts about deliberately worsening conditions in Israeli prisons holding Palestinian detainees suggest this is not improvised rhetoric but a lifelong political commitment.
Sanctions from the UK and some EU states have had no observable effect on his behavior. Meanwhile, Gaza's Ministry of Health reports more than 1,250 deaths since the October ceasefire. Ben-Gvir's calls for nightly killings, if enacted, would accelerate that toll substantially — and his place inside Netanyahu's governing coalition ensures these views remain part of the deliberation, not outside it.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right National Security Minister, has called for Israeli forces to systematically kill between 30 and 40 Palestinians in Gaza each night, regardless of whether they pose an immediate threat. The remarks emerged in a podcast conversation with Rom Braslavski, a former Israeli captive held in Gaza, and circulated widely through Palestinian media outlets on Sunday. Ben-Gvir's language went beyond tactical language about security operations. He described Palestinians in Gaza as people "not worthy of life" and "not even people," framing mass killing as a matter of principle rather than necessity.
Ben-Gvir sits on Israel's security cabinet, the group of senior ministers responsible for shaping the country's war and security policy, though he holds no formal command over the military itself. His position gives him real influence over strategic decisions at a moment when Israel is heading toward elections scheduled for October 27. The minister has been openly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to scale back military operations under the current ceasefire arrangement, instead advocating for a return to targeted assassinations that would extend well beyond people considered active combatants.
The podcast conversation revealed the depth of coordination between Ben-Gvir and Braslavski around a recently enacted death penalty law for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks on Israelis. Braslavski asked directly whether he could personally carry out executions, saying he wanted "a button on a gun" to execute "every terrorist in the state of Israel" with his own hands. Ben-Gvir responded by promising to "turn the world upside down" to make that happen, pledging to do "everything I can" to facilitate Braslavski's participation in executions.
Beyond killings, Ben-Gvir used the conversation to articulate a vision for Gaza's future that centers on Palestinian displacement. He told Braslavski he viewed "all of Gaza as ours" and called for Palestinians to be encouraged to leave permanently while Israeli settlements expand into the territory. International legal experts have flagged such policies as potential ethnic cleansing under international law. The minister has made similar statements repeatedly in public forums, indicating this is not an isolated comment but a consistent element of his political platform.
Ben-Gvir's rhetoric reflects a decades-long pattern. As a teenager, he was involved with the Kahanist movement, an outlawed nationalist organization. Since taking office, he has championed the death penalty as a default sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks and has publicly boasted about deliberately worsening conditions in Israeli prisons holding Palestinian detainees. The international response has been limited: the United Kingdom and some European Union states have imposed sanctions, but these measures have produced no observable change in his conduct or policy positions.
The human toll continues to mount. Gaza's Ministry of Health reports that more than 1,250 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold in October. Ben-Gvir's call for nightly killings of dozens, applied systematically, would add substantially to that number. His position within Netanyahu's coalition government means his views are not marginal commentary but part of the deliberation shaping Israeli military and security decisions. As elections approach, Ben-Gvir's influence appears to be growing rather than diminishing.
Notable Quotes
There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn't live. They're not even people.— Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli National Security Minister
I will turn the world upside down to make that happen. I promise you that I will do everything I can and turn the world upside down until it happens.— Ben-Gvir, responding to a former captive's request to personally execute Palestinians
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