Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said he thinks Israel will create its own civil administration in the Gaza Strip.
“I don’t think Israel is going to leave Gaza very soon. I think Israel is going to create its own civil administration that functions under the Israeli occupying army,” Shtayyeh told the Financial Times in an interview.
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.
