In Gaza, Katz says IDF will hold onto security control of Strip

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not cede security control over Gaza, indicating it will continue to operate buffer zones and hold strategic positions even as negotiators move toward a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Katz makes the comments while visiting the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a belt of land on Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel’s government has insisted troops must remain in order to prevent smuggling between the Sinai and the Strip. While there, he met with commanders and receives a situational briefing, the Defense Ministry says.

“We will ensure that security control is in the hands of the IDF, which will be authorized to act anywhere to prevent threats,” Katz says, according to a Defense Ministry statement.

“We will make sure there are security zones, buffer zones and strategic posts which will ensure the security of towns,” he adds, without explaining what he meant by security zone. “There will be no Hamas rule, and no Hamas military. We will create a new reality here, thanks to the daily fighting, which is continuing even now.”