Israeli minister says Gaza will be destroyed and people driven out

Remarks prompt fears of ethnic cleansing in occupied territory

- Jason Burke

An Israeli government minister has said "Gaza will be entirely destroyed" as a result of an Israeli military victory, and its Palestinian population will "leave in great numbers to third countries", raising fears of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territory.

The declaration yesterday by the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, came a day after Israel's security cabinet approved a plan for Operation Gideon's Chariots, which an Israeli official said would entail "the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories".

The Israeli threat to seize control of the territory permanently has stirred global outrage.

"We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's operations," the UK's Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, said. "Any attempt to annex land in Gaza would be unacceptable."

After the offensive was announced, Hamas said it was no longer interested in talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel's "hunger war", a reference to the total blockade on aid to Gaza in place for more than two months.

"There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip," Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said.

Effie Defrin, Israel's chief military spokesperson, said the planned offensive would include "moving most of the population of the Gaza Strip... to protect them".