In a disturbing display of incitement, Israeli occupation so-called “Minister of National Security,” Itamar Ben Gvir, has openly called for the targeting of Palestinians, including children, near the “yellow line” in Gaza, a restricted area enforced by Israeli occupation forces.
According to Israeli occupation public broadcaster, Ben Gvir asked during a ministerial meeting:
“Why don’t we shoot a child riding a donkey?”
This was in response to a military official clarifying that current rules of engagement allow firing only at adults approaching the line.
In a grim escalation, another minister, Dudi Amsalem, mocked the conversation, asking:
“Who should we shoot first, the child or the donkey?”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly concluded, “Anyone approaching the fence must know they may be harmed.”
Such statements from top officials amount to explicit incitement to violence based on ethnic identity, and they constitute a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit attacks on civilians, especially minors.
The so-called “yellow line” has emerged as a new military control mechanism following Israeli occupation partial withdrawal under the first phase of a ceasefire plan announced on 10 October 2025. Despite the cessation of active operations, Israeli occupation still maintains control over 53% of Gaza, enforcing deadly restrictions on civilian movement.
These remarks by Ben Gvir reveal a premeditated willingness to commit war crimes under the guise of security, further entrenching Gaza’s transformation into a militarised death zone, where Palestinians risk being shot for simply existing near arbitrary lines.
This comes on the heels of a two-year military campaign launched on 7 October 2023, which claimed the lives of over 68,000 Palestinians, injured 170,000 more, most of them women and children, and devastated 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
Despite the ceasefire, Ben Gvir’s genocidal rhetoric underscores that the mindset of extermination remains entrenched within Israeli occupation leadership. His call to shoot children exposes a chilling moral collapse, and an ongoing strategy to erase Palestinian life.
The international community now faces a defining test:
Will it uphold the law and protect civilians, or continue to be complicit through silence while atrocities are openly encouraged at the highest levels of the Israeli occupation government?
