Israel minister says 'Gaza will be entirely destroyed'

A Palestinian inspects the damage following overnight Israeli strikes, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 4 May, 2025AFP

Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday a victory for Israel in Gaza means that the Palestinian territory will be "entirely destroyed" before its inhabitants depart for other countries.

"Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to... the south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries," the far-right firebrand said at a conference on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.