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The Israel Defense Forces will continue to “operate proactively” in Gaza, according to Eyal Zamir, the chief of the general staff of the Israeli military.
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Zamir made the comments following an operational tour on Wednesday, during which he met with several senior Israeli commanders who briefed him on the situation on the ground, per a statement shared by the military.
“In the Gaza Strip, we have struck a blow against Hamas, significantly weakened it and altered the security situation,” Zamir said. “The IDF will continue to operate proactively and in accordance with the principle we have established – to eliminate threats and, in all circumstances, to defend the communities and their residents, and to safeguard their security”.
His statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had not agreed to a US-backed plan for Gaza, which would see Israeli forces withdraw from territory and the disarmament of the Hamas militant group.
“President Trump and his team think they can get Hamas to disarm and demilitarise in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a video message on Tuesday.
“We are looking into that. They sent us a draft, we did not agree,” he continued, adding: “It is not our draft. We sent our comments”.
Trump announced last week that his Board of Peace had reached what he called a “historic” agreement on the “complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” which he said would pave the way for the transition to a new Palestinian government.
According to Trump, the deal would see Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza while an International Stabilization Force would work with a new Palestinian police unit to run the territory.
Jennifer Gavito, a nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said “external actors” would be “indispensable in the success of this proposal.”
“Egypt and Qatar will have to continue to lean heavily on Hamas to fulfill its commitments,” Gavito said, adding that Trump would also have to put “tremendous pressure on Netanyahu” in order for the plan to succeed.
The Israel-Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage into Gaza.
Israel launched a military campaign into Gaza in the wake of the attacks, which has killed more than 73,000 people, per Gaza’s health ministry.
