Israel to maintain Gaza 'security control' after war: Defense chief

TEL AVIV

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his country's forces would be free to act in the Gaza Strip even after its war with Hamas ends.

"After eliminating Hamas's military and governmental capabilities in Gaza, Israel would have security control over Gaza with complete freedom of action" for the Israeli military, Katz said in a post on X, noting that it was his own "position.”

Katz said that Israel's future control over Gaza should be "exactly like in Judea and Samaria,” the biblical names for the West Bank which Israel has occupied since 1967 and where its forces conduct frequent raids.

The question of Gaza's post-war governance has remained unresolved, more than a year since Israel vowed to crush Hamas.

Katz's predecessor Yoav Gallant had voiced firm opposition to any prolonged Israeli control of Gaza.

Israeli media reported that Hamas has concerns that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will allow Israel to resume fighting in Gaza at the completion of the first phase of the three-stage ceasefire that is currently in advanced negotiations.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security forces have launched a rare crackdown against local militant groups in the northern West Bank, sending in armored cars and engaging in fierce gunbattles that have killed at least two people in the volatile area.

The raid marks an unusual step for the Palestinian Authority, the governing body for semi-autonomous pockets in the occupied West Bank that is internationally recognized but has largely lost control of militant strongholds such as Jenin, where forces operated through the weekend and into the week.