Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said control of civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip should be handed over to local Palestinians after the war.
“Gaza residents are Palestinian, therefore Palestinian bodies will be in charge, with the condition that there will be no hostile actions or threats against the State of Israel,” Gallant said as quoted by the Times of Israel.
He said there should be no Israeli civilian presence in Gaza.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, said he firmly opposed Gallant’s plan.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip while its fighters breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 22,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, 2023, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1, 2023. Over 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.
