Defence minister Gallant calls for no Israeli civilian presence in postwar Gaza

Israel’s defence minister said there should be “no Israeli civilian presence” in Gaza when its war with Hamas was over, as he set out his vision for the next phases of the conflict and its aftermath.

In a document released late on Thursday, shortly before Israel’s war cabinet was due to discuss the postwar future of Gaza, Yoav Gallant said Israel should retain “operational freedom of action” in the enclave and take any action needed to “ensure that Gaza will pose no threat to Israel”.

However, he ruled out Israeli civilians returning to the strip once the fighting was over, either to govern it, or to re-establish Jewish settlements.

“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,” the document released by his office said.

“Hamas will not govern Gaza, Israel will not govern Gaza’s civilians.”

Gallant also outlined his expectations for the next stages of fighting in Gaza, saying that in the north of the enclave, the focus would include raids, the destruction of Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure, and special operations.

In the south of the territory, where most of Gaza’s population have now fled, Israeli forces would “focus on eliminating Hamas leadership” and bringing home the hostages still held in Gaza.

Since the war with Hamas erupted on October 7, Israeli officials have given relatively few details of how they envisage arrangements for governing Gaza once the fighting ended, amid deep divisions within the government over the enclave’s future.

Gallant’s blueprint, published ahead of a visit next week by US secretary of state Antony Blinken, represents his personal vision and has not yet been adopted by the government. But it is the most detailed plan for Gaza’s postwar governance presented so far by an Israeli minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to set out his own vision. He has insisted — as Gallant proposed — that Israel should maintain security control over the enclave after the war.

But he has rejected US suggestions that the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, should in future also play a leading role in Gaza, which it ruled until it was ousted by Hamas in 2007.

Meanwhile, far-right members of Netanyahu’s government, including the ultranationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in the enclave, from which Israel withdrew in 2005.

Smotrich lashed out at Gallant’s plan, branding it “a rerun of the day before October 7”.

Gallant said that Gaza’s postwar governance should include the involvement of four parties: Israel, the Palestinians, Egypt and a multinational force.

The document released by his office said Israel would “provide information to guide civilian operations” and, for security reasons, also inspect all goods entering Gaza.

He said the Palestinian body controlling the territory would “build on the capabilities of the existing administrative mechanism” in Gaza as well as “local non-hostile actors”, but gave no further details of who these figures would be.

Gallant added that a multinational task force led by the US should “take responsibility for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip”, in partnership with other European and regional countries.

He also said that Israel was in talks with Egypt over the future of the enclave, without providing details of what role Cairo might play.