Katz: Israel to maintain security control in Gaza after war

The defense minister clarified his position following a report that he had privately told a U.S. official Jerusalem was not interested in controlling Gaza after the war.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces will continue to maintain security control in the Gaza Strip after the war with Hamas concludes.

“In response to various reports, my position regarding Gaza is clear. After we defeat Hamas’s military and governing power in Gaza, Israel will maintain security control in Gaza with full freedom of action, just as in Judea and Samaria,” tweeted Katz in Hebrew.

“We will not allow any terrorist group to organize against Israeli communities and citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality that existed before Oct. 7,” he added.

The statement came after Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that Katz had told a senior American official in a closed-door meeting that “Israel does not want military control or civilian governance over the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

Katz also reportedly said that no decisions had been made regarding settlement in Gaza. He also was quoted as saying with regard to the Palestinian Authority that, “Israel is protecting the P.A. from Iran and Hamas. It [the P.A.]must be shifted to the moderate side.”

98th Division redeploys from Lebanon to Gaza

Meanwhile, fighting continues in the Gaza Strip even amid reports of a potential ceasefire agreement.

The IDF announced on Monday night that after three months of combat against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, 98th Division forces are redeploying to Gaza.

The move comes after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on Nov. 27, under which IDF units are to gradually withdraw from Lebanon.

“The 98th Division completed their mission in the northern arena last week (Wednesday), after approximately three months of continuous combat against Hezbollah’s terrorist strongholds, and conducting their defensive missions following the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF said.

“The soldiers of the 98th Division are currently preparing for their next mission in the Gaza Strip,” added the military.

The division moved from the Gaza arena to the northern front in late September ahead of the entry of ground forces into Southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

During its time in Gaza, the division led an operation in Khan Yunis from early December to early April.

While in Lebanon, the division dismantled more than 300 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites.

Gaza terror shaft destroyed

Soldiers from the IDF’s Givati Brigade Combat Team destroyed a tunnel shaft where terrorists had holed up during an encounter in which they were killed, the IDF said on Tuesday.

The Givati forces, operating in the Jabalya area of northern Gaza as part of the 162nd Division operations, located the tunnel shaft after the terrorists were eliminated.

“We entered the area here and found the shaft here,” the Givati ​​patrol commander said.

“During the searches here, you can see the shaft. Right at the end of the shaft was the Kalashnikov rifle that was found here. Inside the shaft at the entrance was a bag with several cartridges and ammunition. You can see the shaft more closely here. It is a deep shaft that goes down about twenty meters into the ground.”

The shaft is situated near an underground route where fighters from the Yahyalam unit operated and conducted exploration. Stretching about half a kilometer in length and descending dozens of meters deep, the shaft contained living quarters and passages. The route, the shaft, and all associated findings were destroyed by the unit’s fighters.

republished with permission