Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that troops will remain in the so-called security zones in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria for an indefinite period, further complicating talks with Hamas over a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Israeli forces have taken more than half of the Gaza Strip to put militant Hamas fighters under pressure to release their hostages, after Israel ended a ceasefire last month. According to the United Nations, more than two-thirds of the also humanitarian aid-blocked Gaza Strip are now under Israeli evacuation orders or considered as exclusion zones. Israel has also refused to withdraw from certain areas in Lebanon, after a ceasefire with the militant Hezbollah group was agreed last year. Additionally, it has occupied a buffer zone in southern Syria after Islamists overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December. Israel has formally annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, which were captured from Syria. The West Bank, where about three million Palestinians live, has been occupied for more than half a century and settlements have been built, where more than 500,000 Jewish settlers now live. When the rebels overthrew President Assad in December, Israeli forces moved from the Golan Heights to the Syrian side of the buffer zone that was established after the war in 1973. Since then, Israel has expanded its control zone to neighboring villages, which led to clashes with the residents last month. The United States has not yet commented on Katz’s statements. The Trump administration has, however, fully supported Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, including ending the ceasefire, continuing military operations with a surprise bombing that killed hundreds of people and isolating the area from any supply of food, fuel and other goods.
IDF Announces Permanent Military Control Over Gaza, Lebanon and Syria
