During a situation assessment meeting on Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz, along with the heads of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Military Intelligence Agency, and other senior defense officials, received reports that protest flotillas were expected to reach the shores of Gaza. In response, the IDF sought instructions from the defense minister.
Everyone at the table was acutely aware of the trauma surrounding the Gaza flotilla raid, a military operation conducted by Israel on May 31, 2010, against six civilian ships of the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The raid resulted in the deaths of nine flotilla passengers, with thirty others wounded—one of whom later succumbed to his injuries. Ten Israeli soldiers were also wounded, one seriously.
DM Katz proved once again at that meeting how important it was for his office to be run by a civilian and not by a discharged general. Also, he showed how important it was for said civilian to have a sense of humor.
The defense minister directed the IDF to permit the protest boats to reach the Gaza coast, allow the demonstrators to disembark into Gaza, and then seize the ships and transfer them to the port of Ashdod. These vessels, he instructed, would be repurposed to facilitate the voluntary evacuation of Gaza residents who wish to leave.
Addressing his generals, the defense minister stated, “Anyone who comes to protest on the Gaza coast—we will send them into Gaza, and we will use the ships to evacuate Gaza residents who choose to leave voluntarily.”
I noted in the past that President Trump’s plan for emptying Gaza of its Arab residents is not a “war crime,” as it is being presented by the mainstream media, because at least half the population of the Strip is eager to leave. In fact, when they could, before the October 7 lockdown of the crossing into Egypt, Gazans paid between $5,000 and $10,000 per capita to leave. If the US makes it possible for them to leave for free, the Strip would be cleared of most of its residents.
And now, it appears that Israel has found a way to offer them free shipping.
