Israel to maintain permanent military presence in Gaza

Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the IDF would maintain permanent control over parts of the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reports.

"We must ensure the safety and security of Israeli communities by maintaining a permanent IDF presence in a peripheral security zone at strategic points in Gaza, from which attacks on communities and the smuggling of weapons into Gaza can be prevented",

Israel Katz said.

Katz noted that the IDF's main tasks: to defeat Hamas and to free the hostages.

This follows Ynet's report that Israeli authorities are considering full Gaza occupation despite possible opposition to the decision from the army command.