Israel signals long-term Gaza occupation, undermining fragile ceasefire
Israeli defence minister vows to establish outposts in the north of Gaza at a time when mediators are pressing for the implementation of the next phases of the truce.
Defence Minister Israel Katz has vowed Israel will remain in Gaza and pledged to establish outposts in the north of the Palestinian territory, according to a video of a speech published by Israeli media.
His remarks, reported across Israeli media on Tuesday, come amid a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
Mediators are pressing for the implementation of the next phases of the truce, which would involve an Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Speaking at an event in the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El in the occupied West Bank, Katz said: "We are deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave Gaza - there will be no such thing."
"We are there to protect, to prevent what happened (from happening again)," he claimed, according to a video published by Israeli news site Ynet.
Katz also vowed to establish outposts in the north of Gaza in place of illegal settlements that had been evacuated during Israel's unilateral disengagement from the territory in 2005.
"When the time comes, God willing, we will establish in northern Gaza, Nahal outposts in place of the communities that were uprooted," Katz said, referring to military-agricultural illegal settlements set up by Israeli soldiers.
"We will do this in the right way and at the appropriate time."
Call for reoccupation of Palestinian territory
Katz's remarks were slammed by former minister and chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, who accused the government of "acting against the broad national consensus, during a critical period for Israel's national security."
"While the government votes with one hand in favour of the Trump plan, with the other hand it sells fables about isolated settlement nuclei in the (Gaza) Strip," he wrote on X, referring to the Gaza peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump.
The next phases of Trump's plan would involve an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of an interim authority to govern the territory in place of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
On Thursday, several Israelis entered Gaza in defiance of army orders and held a symbolic flag-raising ceremony to call for the reoccupation and resettlement of the Palestinian territory.
At least 411 Palestinians have been killed and 1,112 others injured in Israeli attacks in Gaza since a ceasefire deal took effect on October 10, according to Gaza’s government media office.
A statement by the office said it documented 875 Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal, including 265 incidents of direct shooting at civilians, 49 military incursions into residential areas, 421 incidents of shelling, and 150 incidents of home demolitions.