Israeli army to remain in Gaza, says defence minister
The Israeli army will remain in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, as reported by Al-Monitor via Reuters on December 23rd.
In a speech, Katz stated, “[The Israeli military] are located deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave all of Gaza. There will never be such a thing. We are there to protect, to prevent what happened,” referring to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7th, 2023.
Katz had previously issued an ultimatum to Hamas in September, saying the group would be annihilated if it failed to fully disarm.
Under the US-backed ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on October 10th, Israel was expected to ultimately withdraw its troops from Gaza. Israel has refused to fully withdraw and has established a “new border” within the so-called “yellow line“, which represents areas under Israeli control.
It was reported in November that Israel had violated the ceasefire almost 200 times, with violations including blocking humanitarian aid and launching airstrikes.
On December 12th, it was reported that Israeli attacks have killed over 380 Palestinians since October 10th; Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed over 70,000 people since October 2023.
Speaking about the Israeli presence in Gaza on December 23rd, Katz added, “When the time comes, in northern Gaza … we will build Nahal units instead of the (Israeli) communities that were displaced. We will do so in the right way at the right time.”
When describing “displaced” Israeli communities, he was seemingly referring to the Israeli settlements in Gaza that were dismantled in 2005 as part of then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s settler disengagement plan.
Gaza has been under an Israeli-imposed land, sea and air blockade since 2007, with already dire conditions deteriorating further amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
In December 2024, the UN General Assembly voted in favour of a resolution that recognised the Palestinian right to self-determination, which Israel has repeatedly sought to undermine through its occupation. What’s more, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of Palestine illegal. In November 2024, the UN urged for Israel to comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide from occurring in Gaza.
Al-Monitor via Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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