Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, presented this Thursday (4) a new plan that puts into practice a third phase of the war against Hamas in Gaza. According to the Israeli government official, the country will continue its operations with a more targeted approach in the northern region of the Strip, but with the intensification of the persecution of the terrorist group's leaders in the south.
“In the northern Gaza Strip, we will transition to a new combat approach in line with the Army’s achievements in the area. In this third phase, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers operating in the north will adopt a new form of combat that includes attacks, destruction of terrorist tunnels, air and ground activities and special operations,” Gallant's office said, per through a statement.
In the southern region of the enclave, active military personnel will continue to track Hamas leaders “for as long as necessary”, according to the Minister of Defense, and locate hostages who are still in captivity.
Gallant also stated, this Thursday (4), that Israel will not govern Gaza after the war and there will be no Israeli civilian presence in the enclave. “Hamas will not govern Gaza, Israel will not govern the civilians of Gaza. The residents of Gaza are Palestinians, therefore, Palestinian agencies will be in charge, on the condition that there are no hostile actions or threats against the State of Israel” , he also said in the statement.
The note, which does not specify which Palestinian institutions would take control of the enclave, is part of a plan that the Defense Minister will present to the war cabinet before the next visit to Israel by the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who is carrying out a new trip to the Middle East to discuss the post-war period in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated for the country to at least temporarily take over the security of the Strip after the conflict and has expressed resistance to the idea of the Palestinian Authority administering the region.
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