Israeli troops will remain in Gaza buffer zones indefinitely, Defense Minister Katz says
Israeli troops will not leave the buffer zones in Gaza, even after the war ends, according to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
On Wednesday, Hamas appeared to reject an Israeli-proposed ceasefire deal that would see the return of nearly a dozen hostages who have been held captive for more than 550 days. Israel resumed combat operations in the strip last month after a previous ceasefire agreement fell apart before Israel and Hamas could reach phase two.
Hamas Rejects Israeli Ceasefire, Hostage Return Deal Over Disarmament Demands
"Unlike in the past, the IDF is not withdrawing from areas that have been cleared and captured. The [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and Israeli communities under any temporary or permanent arrangement in Gaza — just as it does in Lebanon and Syria," Katz said in a statement on Wednesday.
The buffer zones that Israel established along the Gaza border make up 30% of the strip, according to the Times of Israel. The outlet also reported that Israeli troops have been working to create the Morag Corridor, which would cut off the southern city of Rafah from Khan Younis.
Hamas reportedly said that any deal that does not have "real guarantees for halting the war, achieving full withdrawal, lifting the blockade, and beginning reconstruction will be a political trap," according to Reuters.
Read On The Fox News App
With Trump's Backing Israel Pushes Deeper Into Gaza As Pressure Builds For Hostage Deal
Since it resumed operations in March, Israel has been condemned by leaders of international institutions who have called for an immediate ceasefire.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that he was "very concerned" about the situation and the lack of humanitarian aid going into the strip. Katz confirmed on Wednesday that humanitarian aid was being blocked in order to put pressure on Hamas, which has been accused of stealing aid.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon condemned Guterres' statement, saying "The U.N. secretary-general has no problem explicitly condemning Israel's defensive war in Gaza and unequivocally calling for a ceasefire. Yet his statements, once again, fail to mention the hostages and fail to mention Hamas, whose barbaric actions on October 7, 2023, triggered this war."
"This war Hamas started will not be over until all of our remaining 59 hostages are returned home from brutal captivity," Danon added.Original article source: Israeli troops will remain in Gaza buffer zones indefinitely, Defense Minister Katz says
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is arming Gazan militias and clans an effective tactic?
Relying on a tribal militia or clan in Gaza may work in the short term. However, in the long term it is unlikely to achieve success. On June 5 reports confirmed that Israel has been arming and apparently supporting or working with an armed militias in Gaza. Some reports refer to this group as a 'gang.' Other reports describe the leader of the group, Yasser Abu Shabab, as a member of a large clan in southern Gaza. There may be more clans being activated or encouraged than just the one linked to Yasser Abu Shabab. Shabab is not his real name and his name is a nomme de guerre, meaning the full details about this group continue to be shrouded in some mystery. As the details are shrouded in some fog, it is hard to know if these groups will become an effective anti-Hamas movement. If the groups aregangs that are more well-known for looting and crimes in the past, rather than achieving much, then they will likely not be embraced by the average people. If the groups are made up of clans or even men with links to Bedouin tribes, then it's possible that it will be hard for them to make inroads among other Gazans. It's worth asking whether the new militias in Gaza may be effective and whether history tells us that arming militias is an effective tactic. First, let's look at what we know about Gaza. It's worth noting that Gaza's population is divided into different groups. There are people who came to Gaza as refugees in 1949 1949, fleeing areas in the Negev that became part of Israel. These people likely make up more than half the population of Gaza. Then there are the people in Gaza who trace their heritage to people who lived in Gaza for hundreds of years before 1948. Those people could be called the original Gazans. They are very different than those called 'refugees.' The refugees moved to camps such as Khan Younis, Rafah, Maghazai, Deir al-Balah, Jabaliya, Nuseirat and Shati. The camps became the backbone of the Palestinian political and armed movements. They also became a hotbed of Hamas activity in the 1980s and 1990s, and thus a hotbed of terrorist activity. The Gaza Gazans, who predate 1948, are less inclined toward Hamas. This means that any attempt by the armed militias, gangs or clans will face hurdles in terms of penetrating Gazan society. This is because groups that have roots in one area, may not be popular in others, or they may even alienate people. Back in the 1980s, Gazan families and clans were often involved in violence against one another. This kind of family violence is also common to Arab villages in Israel, where there has been an unprecedented level of gun violence in recent years. This kind of violence means people are often divided and it is hard to unify them, either militarily or politically. What does history tell us about the challenge that militaries or countries have in recruiting or arming tribes, mercenaries, militias or other types of paramilitary groups? In antiquity, it was not uncommon for tribes to play a role as auxiliaries alongside normal military formations. In addition, it was common that when countries were at war they would often bring along a cavalcade of smaller allies. For instance, when Hannibal was fighting Rome, he had to recruit people from Italy because the actual number of Carthaginians in his army began to decline over time. By the 15th and 16th century, mercenaries played a major role in fighting amongst the Italian city states. This was the era of Machiavelli, who wrote that mercenaries were often 'disunited, ambitious, [and] undisciplined.' However, mercenaries continued to be used by European states. The British employed Hessian mercenaries and others during the Revolutionary War. These groups generally did not prove effective. In addition, the British and other colonial powers often relied on alliances with tribes to help during wartime or to keep the peace on the frontier. For instance, at the battle of Isandlwana, the British army fighting the Zulus included a number of local native troops. The native troops of the Natal Native Contingent, for instance, included tribes that had fought the Zulus. Henan Cortes, during his conquest of the Aztec empire, allied with groups that had been suppressed by the Aztecs in the past. In the modern times, many countries have sought to work with tribes and militias. For instance, Lawrence of Arabia worked with tribes that were in revolt against the Ottoman Empire. During the Vietnam war, the US often worked with Montagnard fighters who opposed the Communists. The US also worked with the Hmong people in Laos. Later, during the US occupation in Iraq the US relied on a group called the Sons of Iraq or Sahweh, which were Sunni tribal militias. These were concentrated in Anbar province. Rwanda has long backed groups in eastern Congo who are made up of members of the Tutsi minority. What this history tells us is that there is a long tradition of working with tribal militias, clans, gangs or mercenaries. However, historically these groups do not have a lasting ability to achieve results. Usually, they are used as part of a policy and then they are usually abandoned when a war is over. In other cases, they simply fade away. The Sunni 'awakening' groups in Iraq, for instance, were starved of resources after the US left Iraq in 2011. Some of the tribes that supported the US continued to play a role. During the ISIS invasion of Iraq, a number of tribes near Haditha helped hold off the ISIS attack. These included the Jughayfa tribe and the Albu Nimr tribe. ISIS persecuted tribal groups that resisted. Key Sunni tribes such as the Shammar opposed ISIS and similar extremists. However, most of these tribes are not able to operate on a national level, they can only help secure certain areas. The use of tribes and militias usually enable states to carve out areas of influence in states they are intervening in. When there is a chaotic state on the border or a weak state, countries will often seek to arm local groups to help protect their borders. This can backfire because the groups may end up going on rampages and massacring people, or they may escalate a war in a neighboring country. The Vietnam War, for instance, destabilized Cambodia and Laos and this led to great suffering over the years. Minority groups who were exploited as allies often were betrayed. In other situations states will try to co-opt or even work with drug cartels, which is how Mexico's former PRI appeared to have run the country in the 1980s and 1990s. When this broke down the country fell into a brutal cycle of violence as the cartels had become more powerful than some state governments. Relying on a tribal militia or clan in Gaza may work in the short term. However, in the long term it is unlikely to achieve success. The theory that Israeli soldiers' lives will be saved via this alliance is not necessarily proven by history. Usually, when states think they can provide guns to tribes or militias as a short-term fix, they find out later that they are drawn into more complex wars. For instance, the spillover from the Rwandan genocide has led to fighting in eastern Congo for thirty years. Has the use of proxies and tribes and militias there helped Rwanda or Congo or anyone else in the long term? Probably not. The same can be said for Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia or many other states teetering on failure and civil war. A long civil war in Gaza will likely harm Israel in the long term.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
IDF names Sgt. Cohen, Sgt.-Maj. Rotstein as additional fallen soldiers in Khan Yunis
The IDF announced on Friday that four Israeli soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, when a bomb detonated, causing a building to collapse on the troops. Sergeant Uri Yehonatan Cohen, 20, from Neve Yarak, and Sergeant Major Tom Rotstein, 23, from Ramat Gan, fighters in the Yahalom unit, Combat Engineering Corps, fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed on Saturday. The IDF announced on Friday that four Israeli soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, when a bomb detonated, causing a building to collapse on the troops clearing the area. Warrant Officer, (Warr. Ofc.) Chen Gross, and Staff-Sergeant (St.-Sgt.) Yoav Raver were the other two soldiers killed during the same incident. The deaths of these four soldiers bring the total number of soldiers killed this week to eight. The incident occurred at approximately 6 a.m., IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin informed. The operation took place as part of the IDF's efforts to destroy terror infrastructure in the area, aiming to establish continuous control. The building that the troops entered is situated above a tunnel system, so it was necessary to enter and investigate it. The Israeli army is using various methods to counter Hamas's regular use of explosives, Brig.-Gen. Defrin stated. When asked why soldiers are sent into buildings instead of using airstrikes, Defrin responded that sometimes it's necessary to investigate tunnel routes or other terror infrastructure, though he could not elaborate further. In addition, the IDF held a security assessment Friday morning at the Southern Command, where senior officials, including Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, reviewed and approved ongoing operational plans in Gaza. A preliminary investigation into the deadly incident was also presented. While no specific findings were disclosed, Defrin emphasized that lessons will be learned.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK Comedian Dawn French Apologizes For 'Clumsy Tone In One-Sided Gaza Video'
UK comedian Dawn French has posted a public apology after posting a video about the war in Gaza, and removed the item from her social media. The 40-second video posted earlier this week showed the star of BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley share her views on the conflict, saying 'Complicated, no, but nuanced. But [the] bottom line is no.' More from Deadline BBC Condemns Israel After IDF Soldiers Strip-Searched & Detained Journalists At Gunpoint Cannes Expresses "Profound Sadness" At Death Of Gaza Photojournalist Fatima Hassouna Paramount+ Boards BBC Comedy 'Can You Keep A Secret?' Starring Dawn French & Craig Roberts Switching into a high-pitched voice, she continued: 'Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us, yeah but no. But we want that land… and we have history… No. Those people aren't really even people, are they really? No.' Following a backlash with people complaining she was mocking the October 7 attack that ignited the war, French removed the video Saturday and said she never meant to 'mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror' of the event. She wrote on social media:'I hope you will understand my intention was not to offend, but I clearly have. For which I am sorry and I have removed the video.' French said that she had posted a video in the style that she has been using for social media 'in an effort to convey an important point', although she added that she had 'clumsily used a mocking tone.' 'My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal unthinkable, unforgiveable, savage attack.' She said her intention had been 'to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on all sides of this atrocious war.' 'THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly, and I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided and that is wrong.' Almost 1,200 people were killed on October 7 2023 when Hamas led a cross-border attack and took 251 hostages. BBC News reports that 54 remain in captivity. Israel launched a retaliatory campaign in Gaza, with a reported death toll of 54,607. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
