Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir formally presented a plan called "Disengagement 710" at a press conference on 3 September, proposing the departure of 1.86 million Palestinians from Gaza over seven years, with 250,000 in the first year and 1.11 million within three years [1][6][9]. The 20-page framework, described by Ben-Gvir as a "National Work Plan for Voluntary Emigration from the Gaza Strip," calls for a dedicated migration ministry, Israeli seed funding of 10 billion shekels with up to 50 billion more contingent on international participation, and resettlement packages covering 24 months [6][8][22]. Ben-Gvir said the plan would be implemented in the next Knesset and that his Jewish Power party would demand a Migration Ministry as a condition for joining any future coalition [1][17][22]. The presentation follows Defence Minister Israel Katz's statement that Israel is prepared to remove Palestinians from Gaza pending US approval [2][15].
Ben-Gvir and Katz insist the proposal involves voluntary departure, not forced expulsion. "Non ci sarà uscita senza un Paese di destinazione e ogni famiglia rimarrà unita. Non si tratta di espulsione forzata, ma della possibilità di uscita volontaria" (There will be no departure without a destination country and every family will stay together. This is not forced expulsion but the possibility of voluntary departure), Ben-Gvir said [1]. He told Palestinians: "Au lieu de creuser des tunnels, il est temps de faire les valises" (Instead of digging tunnels, it's time to pack suitcases) [12]. Karine Hattab, head of Otzma Yehudit's French-language campaign, said the party supports helping Gazans who freely choose to leave but rules out force, while adding that there may not be enough space for them to stay [12]. Katz, speaking separately, called the expulsion of Palestinians "the only real solution" for Gaza and said Israel is organized and prepared to remove people by sea, air or any possible means, pending US approval [7][15]. Katz admitted that no country currently accepts Gazans [7].
Multiple outlets and UN officials reject the "voluntary emigration" label. UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said calls to empty Gaza contradict international humanitarian law and that forced displacement is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions [32]. The Guardian reported the plan is widely seen as coercive and a violation of the Geneva Conventions [8], while Middle East Eye described it as a "$20bn plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza" [17]. TRT World called the proposal ethnic cleansing and noted that no country is currently known to have agreed to accept large numbers of Gazans [33]. Brazilian outlet G1 and Saudi-owned Arab News both underscored that forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions [23][28]. Malaysian outlet Oriental Daily invoked the memory of the 1948 Nakba in its coverage [29].
The plan's viability hinges on US approval and the willingness of receiving countries. Katz said President Donald Trump has "frozen" rather than cancelled the migration plan, and that accepting countries want American backing before proceeding [17]. Trump had originally proposed relocating Gaza's roughly 2.3 million residents in February 2025 before abandoning the idea amid international opposition and a lack of willing destination countries [22]. Egypt lobbied Washington against forced removal [15]. Israeli press reporting, relayed by Al Jazeera's Arabic service, suggests Netanyahu harbors reservations about implementing mass displacement in closed meetings but tactically promotes the idea at key moments to retain Ben-Gvir's support ahead of elections [24].
Netanyahu, speaking inside Gaza on 2 September, said Israel does not plan to withdraw from the Strip. "We are not withdrawing. We are staying on this line. We control 60% of the strip. And there is still more to come, because we are eliminating the terrorists who threaten us," he said [8]. Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj Gen Tamir Yadai reported that Israel now controls about 65% of Gaza, exceeding the 53% agreed under the ceasefire [8]. Netanyahu vowed to continue efforts to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza [4]. Hamas accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire through ground operations and strikes, including a 1 September raid in Gaza City that captured senior Hamas official Muein al-Arabid and killed several people, most of them civilians [4][21]. Hamas denounced the raid as a criminal operation and a ceasefire violation [21].
Palestinian political scientist Khalil Sayegh argued that Israeli-backed Palestinian militias supplied intelligence and opened the way for Israeli forces during the capture of al-Arabid, citing videos of men on motorcycles and militia leader Ghassan al-Douhaini's publication of al-Arabid's photograph as evidence of coordination with Israel [21]. Netanyahu praised the Israeli army and intelligence services for the operation [21].
Israeli operations continue to kill Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire formally in force since October 2025. The Gaza Health Ministry counts at least 73,470 people killed since October 2023, including more than 1,330 killed since the ceasefire began [2][16]. On 3 September, Israeli drone and gunfire attacks killed at least three people in Gaza City and Beit Lahia [2]. The Israeli military said its forces identified and killed two people in northern Gaza whom it classified as terrorists crossing the Yellow Line, and announced a new attack after detecting gunfire against its forces east of the Yellow Line, calling it a flagrant violation of the ceasefire [2][16].
The displacement rhetoric extends to the occupied West Bank, where Amnesty International documented Israeli confiscation of approximately 20 hectares in Area A around Jenin, aimed at connecting settlements [13][19]. Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the confiscation orders show Israel is brazenly expanding its annexation agenda to areas under Palestinian control since the Oslo Accords, and warned that states assisting Israel's settlement enterprise risk complicity in international crimes [13][19]. Peace Now noted the seizure orders are the first issued openly for civilian settlement purposes in Area A since the Oslo Accords [13]. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich proposed extending the removal measure to Palestinians in the West Bank [34]. Netanyahu celebrated settlement growth under his governments, telling settlers: "Estáis haciendo realidad la visión de la tierra de Israel. Esta es nuestra tierra y seguirá siendo nuestra" (You are making real the vision of the Land of Israel. This is our land and it will remain ours) [19]. The UN Human Rights Office for Palestine said Israel must end its unlawful presence and evacuate all settlers from the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces killed two Palestinian teenagers in al-Mughayyir [20].
Separately, Israel released the first of five Lebanese and Syrian prisoners under US-mediated talks, with the US State Department commending both governments for demonstrating good faith and hoping the step would lead to broader discussions on civilian issues [5][18]. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam thanked Washington and pledged to keep working until all prisoners are released and Israel fully withdraws from Lebanese territory [5][14]. Hezbollah said it will not give up its weapons in any area north of the Litani River and is not a party to the talks [5].
In Iraq, the government is pressing ahead with a US-backed plan to disarm militias outside state control by a 30 September deadline, with Muqtada al-Sadr's Sadrist movement cited as responsive [3]. An Israeli security-studies assessment by researcher Yaron Schneider warned that Iran-aligned factions Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba categorically reject disarmament and have widened military action regionally, with Iran treating the militias' disarmament as a red line it seeks to prevent [3].
Israeli elections scheduled for 27 October will determine whether Jewish Power remains in government and whether Ben-Gvir can press for his Migration Ministry [1][12]. Katz said Israeli and US election results will shape whether the plan advances [7].