Katz had
initially said that Israel would eventually allow the resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but later clarified his remarks following outrage from far-right members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, warned against repeating what he called the "historic mistake" of letting any aid into Gaza, where a "complete siege"
declared in response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 has fueled widespread starvation, sickness, and other crises.
"It's a shame we don't learn from our mistakes. As long as our hostages are dying in the tunnels, there is no reason for a gram of food or aid to enter Gaza," Ben-Gvir said on social media.
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar also
discussed the policy Wednesday, asserting that "the despicable murderers in Gaza deserve no humanitarian assistance from any civilian or military mechanism."
"Only hellfire should be poured on the makers of terrorism until the last hostage returns from Gaza," Zohar added.
Israeli media
reported Wednesday that senior government security officials believe Gaza will run out of humanitarian supplies and food in about a month.
Legal experts say the siege is a war crime, and United Nations experts and human rights groups have
called Israel's blockade and use of starvation as a weapon of war acts of genocide.
The International Court of Justice—which is
weighing a genocide case against Israel—last March issued a provisional order to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Many critics say Israel has ignored the directive.
Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who ordered the siege, are also fugitives from the International Criminal Court, which last year
issued warrants to arrest the pair for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the siege.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which advocates for people kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack, on Wednesday
accused the Netanyahu government of "choosing to seize territory over hostages."
"The time has come to stop the false promises and slogans. It is impossible to continue the war and at the same time release all the hostages," the group added, echoing the growing anti-war sentiment among
Israeli troops and the general public.
Human rights groups around the world have condemned Israel's blockade of Gaza. On Wednesday, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
called on the Israeli government to "immediately lift the inhumane and deadly siege on Gaza, protect the lives of Palestinians and humanitarian and medical personnel, and for all parties to restore and sustain the cease-fire" that Israel unilaterally broke last month.
Amande Bazerolle, the medical group's emergency coordinator in Gaza, said in a statement that "Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance."
"We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza," Bazerolle added. "With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care."
Katz also said Wednesday that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops would remain in so-called security zones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria for an indefinite period.
"Unlike in the past, the IDF is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized," and "will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and [Israeli] communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza—as in Lebanon and Syria," Katz said.
Earlier this month, Katz
said Israel will be "seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel for the protection of fighting forces and the settlements," a reference to plans by far-right members of Netanyahu's government for the ethnic cleansing and Israeli recolonization of Gaza.
Israeli soldiers have
blown the whistle on alleged war crimes committed by IDF troops in what some call the "kill zone" along the border with Israel, including indiscriminate killing and wholesale deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Recent reporting has also
revealed the IDF is planning to take as much as 20% of Gaza, including the entire depopulated city of Rafah. U.S. President Donald Trump has also proposed an American takeover of Gaza, the expulsion of its Palestinians, and the development of the "Riviera of the Middle East" in the coastal strip.
Almost all of Gaza's more than 2 million people have been forcibly displaced by Israel's onslaught, some of them multiple times. The 558-day assault has left more than 180,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in Gaza, according officials there.
