Hebrew Channel: An Israeli plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza starting in October

Channel 12 reported on Friday that the security establishment in Israel presented the government with a plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip starting in October, and that this will be a central topic in discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Tel Aviv next week.

The private channel added that "migration from Gaza will be a central topic in the discussions with the U.S. Secretary of State in Israel next week."

Rubio is set to arrive in Israel at the beginning of the week to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials, and to participate in the opening of a tunnel in the town of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.

The channel further stated: "The voluntary migration plan from Gaza is an initiative from U.S. President Donald Trump, which has received significant public support from Prime Minister Netanyahu; however, the government is practically very skeptical about the feasibility of this step."

It continued: "The security establishment presented a plan on Thursday that allows Gaza residents (Palestinians) to leave the strip (relocation) starting next month (October 2025), by air and sea."

It noted that "next week, the U.S. Secretary of State will arrive in Israel, and one of the main issues to be discussed in meetings with him will be the voluntary migration (relocation)."

Regarding the steps being taken by Tel Aviv to relocate Palestinians, the channel said: "Israel is in talks with several unnamed countries, but so far there is no agreement with any one country."

The channel quoted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the biggest supporters of the relocation plan, saying in a government meeting: "There is no point in investing a lot of money if the residents of Gaza return within a year, and if there is no significant change in the Gaza Strip, this is unnecessary."

It mentioned that Netanyahu responded by saying: "We will not invest large sums of money, but we will make progress with the countries interested in absorbing them."

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said during the same meeting: "Relocating the Palestinians is the most important thing we are dealing with now, and we must do it as soon as possible to make it happen from now on."

The Israeli channel did not clarify the day on which the discussion took place between the ministers and Netanyahu.

According to Channel 12, "there is currently no country with which there is a final agreement, but Israel itself will not invest budgets in this step, indicating a practical decrease in the chances of this step."

Israel has long talked about the relocation of Palestinians under the pretext of "voluntary migration," while making the Gaza Strip an inhospitable environment for its residents in order to implement the relocation plan, through its continued genocide, destruction of all means of life, as well as imposing a blockade and closing crossings, which has led to widespread famine.

Repeatedly, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have warned against the relocation plan being orchestrated by Israel, while Egypt expressed its rejection of the step after claims from Tel Aviv that it is closing the Rafah crossing to Palestinians, while Cairo confirmed that the crossing is open on its side, but Israel is closing it on the Palestinian side.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with U.S. support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, resulting in 64,718 dead and 163,859 injured Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, along with hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and famine that has killed 411 Palestinians, including 142 children.