Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, declaring that Israel will not withdraw despite renewed efforts by mediators to move forward with a US-backed ceasefire proposal that calls for a troop pullback.
The visit marked Mr Netanyahu’s first trip to the war-ravaged territory since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in October 2025.
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Speaking near the so-called Yellow Line, which separates areas controlled by Hamas from those held by the Israeli military, Mr Netanyahu said: “We control the area. We are not retreating. We are staying on this line.”
“We control 60% of the Strip, and we are not stopping, because we are eliminating the terrorists who threaten us, day in and day out.”
Israel has continued military operations against Palestinians it identifies as militants, despite international calls for the parties to advance to the next phases of the US-led peace plan.
‘Doing everything to reach our goal’
Mr Netanyahu, who is facing closely fought elections in October, rejected a proposal last month to proceed to the plan’s next stage after Hamas said it had agreed to surrender its weapons.
He has insisted that Israel will not withdraw its forces until the Palestinian Islamist movement has been “genuinely” disarmed.
Yesterday, Israel said its troops, working alongside a Palestinian militia opposed to Hamas, had captured the leader of the group’s internal security apparatus during a ground operation in Gaza City. Palestinian health officials said the operation killed four people.
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed four Palestinians, including two children
Hamas’s Interior Ministry named the man as Muein al-Arabid, describing him as an “officer in the internal security service”, though it did not say whether he was the organisation’s chief.
“We are doing everything to reach our goal – disarming Hamas and demilitarising Gaza. Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said. He added: “There is still work left to complete – and we will complete it.”
‘No solution for Gaza without this migration’
Israel’s defence minister said today that the country had prepared plans to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip but was waiting for the United States to determine where they could be taken.
“There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration,” Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference organised by Israeli news site Ynet and newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The government, he said, “is organised and prepared to get them out – by sea, by air, by every way possible”.
Previous proposals for the complete displacement of Gaza’s population have provoked international outrage and been condemned by Palestinians.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the country had plans to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip
When Mr Trump announced the Gaza ceasefire in October, he presented a 20-point plan for the territory that included a commitment against forced displacement.
Under the Geneva Conventions, the forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is regarded as a war crime.
Israel’s military operations in Gaza have killed at least 1,334 people since the ceasefire began, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory. The ministry operates under Hamas authority, but the United Nations considers its figures reliable.
The Israeli army has said that five of its personnel have died during the same period, along with one civilian contractor.
