JERUSALEM, 26 Oct. - (ANA) - Israeli ministers, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, made shocking remarks during a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, suggesting that soldiers should shoot "children and donkeys" approaching Gaza's so-called "yellow line".

 

According to reports by Israel's Kan 11 and the Israel Broadcasting Authority, the exchange took place during a meeting of the security cabinet, where the army's deputy chief of staff briefed ministers on engagement protocols for Palestinians nearing the line - an invisible boundary separating Israeli forces from populated areas of the Gaza Strip under a US-brokered ceasefire plan.

 

The military official said that soldiers were instructed to open fire on adults who crossed the line, but to arrest children if they were found near it.

 

In response, Ben-Gvir questioned why troops did not "shoot a child riding a donkey", insisting that Israel "must stop being merciful".

 

Government-Knesset liaison minister Dudi Amsalem then mockingly asked: "Who should we shoot first - the child or the donkey?"

 

Defence Minister Yisrael Katz reportedly closed the discussion by saying: "Anyone who approaches the fence should know they may be harmed".

 

The "yellow line" refers to the zone to which Israeli forces withdrew during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, brokered under US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war and arrange a prisoner exchange.

 

The boundary is not visibly marked, leaving civilians at risk of being shot for unknowingly entering an undefined restricted area.

 

Despite the ceasefire deal taking effect on 10 October, Israeli troops continue to occupy more than half of the Gaza Strip, including areas in the north and centre, as well as parts of Rafah and the Salah al-Din corridor.

 

Further withdrawals are expected only after a temporary technocratic government takes control in Gaza under an Arab-international security arrangement.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/26 October 2025 - - -