**Gaza Strip Retreat Considered for Reoccupation After 20 Years**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directly mentioned the possibility of reoccupying the Gaza Strip, according to a report by the Times of Israel on the 26th.
In a speech at the Knesset, Netanyahu stated, “Fighting continues in the Gaza Strip,” and added, “The more Hamas refuses to release hostages, the stronger the pressure will be.” He further explained, “This includes occupying territory, though I will not go into all the details now.”
Israel initially occupied the Gaza Strip during the Third Arab-Israeli War in 1967 but withdrew its military and evacuated 21 Jewish settlements in the area in 2005, 38 years later. Even after the war in Gaza broke out following a surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023, Israel focused on rescuing hostages and eliminating Hamas, without aiming for reoccupation.
However, as the ceasefire between the two sides expired this month and extension negotiations stalled, the idea of reoccupying the Gaza Strip started being discussed among hardliners in the Israeli Cabinet.
On the 21st, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned, “The more Hamas refuses to release hostages, the more territory they will lose, and it will be annexed by Israel.” He further stated, “If the hostages are not released, Israel will occupy more and more territory for permanent control of the Gaza Strip.”
According to a report by the Financial Times on the 24th, the Israeli military has devised a plan for reoccupying the Gaza Strip and submitted it to the security cabinet. The plan reportedly involves deploying several combat divisions to attack Gaza, suppressing remaining Hamas forces, and ultimately establishing military control over the territory.