Israeli defence minister says troops will remain in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely
Much of Gaza is uninhabitable
Israel's bombardment and ground operations have left vast areas of the territory uninhabitable and have displaced around 90% of the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. Many have been displaced multiple times, and hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps with dwindling food after Israel sealed off the territory from all imports more than a month ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annihilate Hamas and return the 59 hostages still in Gaza — 24 of whom are believed to be alive. He has said that Israel will then implement U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for the resettlement of much of Gaza's population in other countries through what Netanyahu refers to as “voluntary emigration.”
Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected Trump’s proposal, which human rights experts say would likely violate international law. Palestinians in Gaza say they don’t want to leave, and fear another mass expulsion like the one that occurred during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.
The Trump administration, which took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire, has expressed full support for Israel's decision to end it and to cut off all humanitarian aid. Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been trying to broker a new ceasefire more favorable to Israel, but those efforts appear to have made little progress.
Netanyahu helms the most nationalist and religious government in Israel's history, and his coalition partners have called for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Israel withdrew its forces from Gaza and dismantled its settlements there in 2005, but it maintained control of most of Gaza's land border, coastline and airspace, and joined Egypt in imposing a blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007.
Israel seized Gaza, east Jerusalem and the West Bank — territories the Palestinians want for a future state — in the 1967 Mideast war. It also captured the Golan Heights from Syria in that conflict and annexed it in a move not recognized by any country except for the United States.
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