Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that troops will remain in so-called security zones within the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, remarks that would further complicate talks with Hamas over a ceasefire and hostage release.
Israeli forces have taken over greater than half of Gaza in a renewed campaign to pressure Hamas to release hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire last month. Israel has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group last 12 months, and it seized a buffer zone in southern Syria after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad in December.
“Unlike previously, the (Israeli military) isn’t evacuating areas which were cleared and seized,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in an announcement. The military “will remain in the safety zones as a buffer between the enemy and (Israeli) communities in any temporary or everlasting situation in Gaza — as in Lebanon and Syria.”
The Palestinians and each neighboring countries view the presence of Israeli troops as military occupation in violation of international law. Hamas has said it’ll not release dozens of remaining hostages and not using a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a long-lasting ceasefire.
“They promised that the hostages come first. In practice, Israel is selecting to seize territory before the hostages,” the major organization representing families of the hostages said in an announcement.
“There may be one solution that’s desirable and feasible, and that’s the release of all of the hostages directly as a part of an agreement, even at the fee of ending the war,” it said.
Israel says it must maintain control of what it refers to as security zones to stop a repeat of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, by which 1000’s of militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, in response to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say what number of were civilians or combatants but says women and kids make up greater than half of the dead. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
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Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have left vast areas of the territory uninhabitable and have displaced around 90% of the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. Many have been displaced multiple times, and lots of of 1000’s are crammed into squalid tent camps with dwindling food after Israel sealed off the territory from all imports greater than a month ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annihilate Hamas and return the 59 hostages still in Gaza — 24 of whom are believed to be alive. He has said that Israel will then implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of much of Gaza’s population in other countries through what Netanyahu refers to as “voluntary emigration.”
Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected Trump’s proposal, which human rights experts say would likely violate international law. Palestinians in Gaza say they don’t want to depart, and fear one other mass expulsion just like the one which occurred in the course of the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.
The Trump administration, which took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire that took hold in January, has since expressed full support for Israel’s decision to finish it and to chop off all humanitarian aid. Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been attempting to broker a brand new ceasefire agreement more favorable to Israel but those efforts appear to have made little progress.
Netanyahu helms essentially the most nationalist and non secular government in Israel’s history, and his coalition partners have called for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Israel withdrew its forces from Gaza and dismantled its settlements there in 2005, however it maintained control of most of Gaza’s land border, coastline and airspace, and joined Egypt in imposing a blockade on the territory after Hamas seized power in 2007.
Israel seized Gaza, east Jerusalem and the West Bank — territories the Palestinians want for a future state — within the 1967 Mideast war. It also captured the Golan Heights from Syria in that conflict and annexed it in a move not recognized by any country apart from the USA.
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
