Israel continues to bomb the Gaza Strip on Friday, January 5, while the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, is scheduled to travel to the Middle East. Thursday evening, the Israeli Minister of Defense unveiled his first plan for the post-war period in the Palestinian enclave: it does not foresee either Hamas or an Israeli administration.
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What you must remember :
■ The American Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to the Middle East this Friday where he hopes avoid conflagration after the elimination of Hamas number two in Lebanon.
■ The Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant revealed his first plan for post-war Gaza. “ There will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after war objectives are achieved “, did he declare.
■ During the night from Thursday to Friday, Israeli forces once again increased strikes in the south and center of the Gaza Stripwhere witnesses also reported intense fighting.
■ According to a new report announced Thursday January 4 by the Hamas Ministry of Health, 22 438 people were killed in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7. The majority of the dead are women, adolescents and children. There are almost 60 000 injured. The Israeli army said Thursday it had killed more than 2 000 Palestinian fighters since the end of the truce at the beginning of December. 175 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the Israeli army’s ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 27, according to the latest army figures.
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06:26: The Israeli military operation in Gaza will enter a “third phase”, according to the Minister of Defense
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), an American think tank, published its daily analysis of the situation accompanied by maps. “Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip “ complete the current mission » as part of their “ transition to a third phase of operations in this region “, he recalled.
Among the essential information to also note according to the ISW, “ Israel moved the north-south evacuation corridor from the Salah al-Dine road to the Gaza Strip coastal road “.
Key Takeaways: 1/12 🧵
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reported that Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip “are completing the current mission” as part of their transition to a third phase of operations there. https://t.co/ajBiIBbz3Q pic.twitter.com/1KDBJu0MOu
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) January 5, 2024
06:00: Israeli Defense Minister unveils post-war plan for Gaza
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented Thursday evening his first plan to “ post-war » in the Gaza Strip. He does not foresee “ nor Hamas ” neither ” Israeli civil administration “. Yoav Gallant revealed the broad outlines of this plan to the press before submitting it to Benyamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, divided in recent weeks over the course of action to follow in the war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007 .
According to the plan, operations in the Gaza Strip “ will continue ” until ” return of hostages “, the “dismantling of Hamas’ military and governance capabilities” and “ the elimination of military threats in the Gaza Strip “, argued Mr. Gallant. After which another phase will begin, that of “ next day » the war according to which “ Hamas will not control Gaza », according to this plan which has not, at this stage, been adopted by the government.
The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, called on Monday for a return of Jewish settlers to Gaza after the war and to “ encourage » the Palestinian population to emigrate, following a similar call from his far-right colleague, Bezalel Smotrich. “ There will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after war objectives are achieved “, declared Thursday Yoav Gallant, specifying that the Israeli army would however keep ” his freedom of action » in Gaza to curb all “ threat » possible.
“ The inhabitants of Gaza are Palestinians. Therefore, Palestinian entities will be in charge [de la gestion] provided that there is no hostile action or threat against the State of Israel “, affirmed the Minister of Defense without specifying who, among the Palestinians, should administer this territory of 2.4 million inhabitants.
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