PARIS, August 19, 2026 (WAFA) – Germany and France denounced on Wednesday Israeli Jewish supremacist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s remarks calling for killing “30 to 40” Palestinians nigtly in the geocide-stricken Gaza Strip.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned Ben-Gvir’s remarks as “unacceptable and inhuman”.
“What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion,” Barrot wrote on X.
“This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman,” added Barrot.
Meanwhile, German government spokesman Sebastian Hille stated that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister Ben-Gvir, which violate international law. They are unacceptable."
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has urged the European Union to seriously consider sanctioning Ben-Gvir over his call for the nightly killing of Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza.
“These are statements that we, as the German government, cannot accept in any way," Klingbeil told German broadcaster Sat.1 on Tuesday.
The co-leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party described Ben Gvir’s language as "dehumanizing" and said European governments must now examine possible sanctions "very seriously".
Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir has called for Israel to kill dozens of Palestinians every night in Gaza, while openly advocating the establishment of Israeli colonies throughout the Strip and the mass displacement of its Palestinian population.
Ben-Gvir criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for scaling back military operations in Gaza amid US efforts to advance President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory.
“I think we should be doing 30 to 40 targeted assassinations per night,” Ben-Gvir said, according to the Financial Times.
He made clear that he was not referring exclusively to Palestinians whom Israel considers an immediate military threat.
“Not just those who pose an immediate threat. There are people there who don’t deserve to live,” he said. “They are not even people.”
His remarks come amid continuing Israeli attacks on Gaza despite the ceasefire that entered into force in October 2025.
Israel has waged a military onslaught on the Strip since 7 October 2023, killing at least 73,399 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 174,310 others. It has destroyed 90% of the Strip’s infrastructure, with the cost of Gaza reconstruction estimated at $70 billion.
Since the Gaza ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 11, 2025, Israel has killed over 1,265 Palestinians and injured 4,198 others. The bodies of 813 slain Palestinians have been recovered during the same period.
Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
K.F.
