Israel’s Foreign Minister denies Gazans being forced to migrate abroad, as data shows less than 11,000 have left since last October – and thousands have returned.By World Israel News StaffThousands of Palestinians have crossed out of Gaza since last year’s ceasefire, but new figures show that most of those departures were tied to medical treatment rather than permanent relocation, while thousands of others have moved back into the territory.Israeli border data cited Thursday in a report by the Times of Israel shows roughly 10,500 people have departed Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire, compared with about 6,000 who entered during the same period.World Health Organization figures indicate that medical evacuations account for the overwhelming majority of those leaving. Since the ceasefire, 3,015 patients have been taken out of Gaza for treatment, accompanied by 5,220 relatives or caregivers.Together, patients and accompanying family members make up 8,235 of the approximately 10,500 departures.That leaves roughly 2,300 people who left for other reasons, including study abroad, family reunification and residence or citizenship arrangements in foreign countries.More than 6,000 of those leaving Gaza crossed into Egypt through Rafah, while about 4,500 departed through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.The roughly 6,000 people who entered Gaza during the same period all returned through Rafah.The figures come as senior Israeli officials increasingly debate whether Israel should actively encourage Gazans who want to leave to resettle elsewhere.National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir recently proposed a seven-year government program aimed at facilitating large-scale voluntary emigration from Gaza, including the creation of a government ministry devoted to the issue.“Instead of illusions of peace now, we need actions of emigration now,” Ben-Gvir said. “Instead of them digging tunnels, it’s time to pack suitcases.”Defense Minister Israel Katz has also argued that emigration should form part of Gaza’s long-term future.“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration,” Katz said earlier this month.Katz said Israel should be prepared to facilitate departures “by sea, by air, by every way possible,” while acknowledging that countries willing to absorb large numbers of Gazans have yet to emerge.Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, however, stressed Wednesday that Israel was not planning forced removals.“We are not planning to expel or to deport anyone from the Gaza Strip,” Sa’ar said during a visit to Slovenia.“If someone wants to immigrate of his own will, and there is a country which is ready to accept him, we will not oppose that,” he added. “But we will not force anyone against his will.”Palestinian officials and Arab governments have strongly opposed Israeli proposals encouraging departure from Gaza, arguing that movement under wartime or postwar conditions cannot necessarily be regarded as genuinely voluntary.Hamas official Ismail Al-Thawabta rejected Ben-Gvir’s proposal last week.“The Palestinian people are deeply rooted in their land and will not be intimidated by such threats,” he said.The latest crossing data nevertheless suggests that outward movement from Gaza remains limited relative to the territory’s population of more than two million.It also shows that the large majority of those who have left since the ceasefire did so as part of organized medical evacuations rather than as part of a broader migration program.Cross-border movement from Gaza has been heavily restricted since the war that followed Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.Israel seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in May 2024, largely halting regular civilian travel through the border.Limited pedestrian traffic resumed on February 2, 2026, under arrangements connected to the October ceasefire. Palestinians traveling through Rafah are subject to security screening, with European Union personnel monitoring the crossing alongside Palestinian officials.Publicly released polling has in recent years shown that roughly half of Gazans want to leave the war-torn coastal enclave, while the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has found that roughly 80% of Gazans are interested in migrating, according to Katz.However, actual departures have been limited by the lack of entry visas into host countries, a basic requirement for Gazans seeking to use Israeli airports and overland points of departure.The post 10,500 Gazans have left the Strip in past year, while thousands have returned appeared first on World Israel News.