Israel-Hamas war: Israel unveils new post-war plan
The first look at how Gaza could be governed – without Hamas – after the war ends has been revealed by Israel’s Defence Minister.
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Israel has given the world its first look at how it sees Gaza being governed after the war with Hamas ends.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said neither Hamas nor Israel would be in control of the Palestinian territory after hostilities conclude.
Mr Gallant unveiled an outline of his plan to media before submitting it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, which has been divided in recent weeks over the future of Gaza after its intended elimination of Hamas – which has ruled the strip since 2007.
Under the plan, Israel’s war in the territory will continue until it has secured the return of the hostages taken on October 7, dismantled Hamas’s “military and governing capabilities”, and removed any remaining military threats.
After that, the outline says, a new phase will begin during which “Hamas will not control Gaza and will not pose a security threat to the citizens of Israel”, with unspecified Palestinian bodies assuming the territory’s governance.
Israel would reserve its right to operate inside the territory, the plan states, but there would be “no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after the goals of the war have been achieved”.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had called for Israeli settlers to return to the territory after the war, and for a “solution to encourage the emigration” of Gaza’s Palestinian population, echoing similar comments by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The calls had drawn condemnation from Arab states, as well as from key ally the United States.
“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,” Mr Gallant’s outline says, without specifying which bodies that might include.
Washington has suggested Gaza be governed by a “revitalised” Palestinian Authority, which is based in the occupied West Bank.
The unveiling of the post-war plan comes on the eve of a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is travelling to the Middle East to press for more humanitarian aid for Gaza and to stave off any regional escalation of the conflict.
Mr Blinken is to hold what threatens to be tough talks with Israeli leaders on “immediate measures to increase substantially humanitarian assistance to Gaza”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead,” Mr Miller said.
ISIS CLAIMS IRAN ATTACK, AS US STRIKES IN IRAQ
The terrorist organisation ISIS claimed responsibility for the twin bombings that killed about 84 and injured 300 more in Iran.
In a statement, the Islamic State said the suicide bombings were carried out by two operatives Umar al-Muwahid and Sayf Allah al-Mujahid. The death toll was revised down from about 100.
A senior Biden administration official said earlier the explosions looked like the work of ISIS, which has been severely degraded but maintains terror cells in Iraq and Iran.
ISIS has now claimed Responsibility for the Suicide Bombing yesterday on the Memorial Route for the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani within the City of Kerman, Iran which resulted in the Death of close to 200 Iranians; ISIS in a Statement claimed the Bombing was carried out by… pic.twitter.com/nQvIz9qxUE
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 4, 2024
“It does look like a terrorist attack, the kind of thing ISIS has done in the past, and that’s our ongoing assumption at the moment,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters.
It comes as the US killed the military commander of the Iranian-backed Hashed al-Shaabi ex-paramilitary faction, according to the Iraqi government.
“A drone targeted the logistical support headquarters of Hashed al-Shaabi,” mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, said an Iraqi security official.
The strike killed “two members and wounded seven others”, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the Hashed’s factions, said in a statement that “the deputy commander of operations for Baghdad, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi”, had been “martyred in a US strike”.
A US official neither confirmed nor denied that Washington was behind the strike.
“The United States is continuing to take action to protect our forces in Iraq and Syria by addressing the threats they face,” said the official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
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ISRAELI STRIKE KILLS CHILDREN IN ‘SAFE ZONE’
An Israeli strike had destroyed a home in Mawasi in southern Gaza, an area that the Israeli military had declared a safe zone.
At least 12 people were killed, almost all of them children, according to Palestinian hospital officials.
The blast killed a man and his wife, seven of their children and three other children ranging in age from five to 14, according to a list of the dead who were taken to Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
There was no immediate response from Israel’s military.
ISRAELI MILITARY CHIEF FORMS TEAM TO INVESTIGATE OCTOBER 7 FAILURES
Israel’s military chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi has formed a team made up of former military officials who will investigate the army’s failure to stop Hamas’s attack on October 7.
According to Israeli media outlets Ynet and the Times of Israel, the team’s members will include the former chief of staff, Shaul Mofaz, former head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, and former Southern Command chief Sami Turgeman.
ISRAEL HITS BACK AT CRITIQUE
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir hit back at ally the United States over its criticism of his push for the transfer of Gazans out of the Palestinian territory.
“The United States is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the State of Israel: the migration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow the (Israeli) residents of the envelope to return home and live in security and will protect the IDF (Israeli) soldiers,” the extreme-right minister posted on X.
His post comes after the US State Department criticised his call for a population transfer as “inflammatory and irresponsible”.
Washington has called out both Mr Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who have called for Israeli settlers to return to Gaza and for the territory’s Palestinian inhabitants to leave.
“Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land,” the State Department said.
Expelling civilians during a conflict or creating unlivable conditions which force them to leave is a war crime.
The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been forced out of their homes by nearly three months of fighting between Hamas militants and Israel.
HAMAS REVENGE AFTER BEIRUT KILLING
The deputy leader of Hamas Saleh al-Aruri was among six people killed in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday.
Arouri, one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, had headed the group’s presence in the West Bank and was an Israeli target long before the Hamas attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 Israeli’s.
Israel has previously announced the killing in Gaza of Hamas commanders and officials during the war, but Aruri is the most high-profile figure to be killed, and his death came in the first strike on the Lebanese capital since hostilities began.
Hamas said the killing will not lead to its defeat, while Hezbollah vowed Aruri’s death will not go “unpunished”.
Hezbollah called it “a serious assault on Lebanon … and a dangerous development in the course of the war.”
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the killing and said it “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not directly comment on Aruri’s killing but said the military is “highly prepared for any scenario” in its aftermath.
The strike came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border.
Since the fighting began on October 8, the fighting has been concentrated a few kilometres from the border but on several occasions Israel’s air force hit Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has issued a statement rejecting “inflammatory and irresponsible statements from Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.”
Matthew Miller said “there should be no mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza” in the statement issued on Tuesday.
“We have been clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel,” Mr Miller said.
“That is the future we seek, in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world,” Miller added.
On Saturday, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israelis would “make the desert bloom” if only 100,000 Palestinians lived in Gaza. The current population of Gaza is 2.3 million.
The United States rejects the inflammatory and irresponsible statements from Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir. There should be no mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) January 2, 2024
MORE MISSILES FIRED AT SHIPS IN RED SEA
Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels fired two missiles late on Tuesday local time toward merchant ships travelling in the Red Sea near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the US military said following a report by the British maritime security agency UKMTO.
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations had initially reported explosions near a cargo ship sailing between the coasts of Eritrea and Yemen.
“Master reports no damage to the vessel and crew are reported safe at present,” the agency, run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said in a brief message.
The US Central Command later said Huthi rebels had fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the southern Red Sea, where there were multiple commercial ships but “none have reported any damage”.
“These illegal actions endangered the lives of dozens of innocent mariners and continue to disrupt the free flow of international commerce,” CENTCOM said on X, formerly Twitter, adding it was the 24th attack against merchant shipping in the area since November 19.
The UN Security Council is set to hold a meeting Wednesday on maintaining international peace and security, which French diplomats said would address the issue of Huthi attacks in the Red Sea.
In recent weeks, Huthi rebels have launched a flurry of drone and missile strikes targeting commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea to The Gulf of Aden.
They say their strikes are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas militants.
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Israel unveils new post-war plan
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