Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks with Israeli soldiers, October 19, 2023. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made a clear statement about Israel's position on the ceasefire agreement on Sunday during a visit to the IDF's Southern Command to assess the situation.
“We will not accept Hamas' rule in any process that ends the war,” Gallant declared.
The defense minister also said Israel was offering alternatives to Hamas in areas cleared of the terror group.
“We are promoting an alternative government to Hamas, isolating areas, removing Hamas members and bringing in other forces that would allow for a different government,” Gallant said.
According to Gallant, this process will help Israel achieve two main objectives in the war.
“These two actions — military action on the one hand, and the capacity for regime change on the other — will lead to the achievement of the two objectives of this war: the defeat of the Hamas regime and its military forces and the return of the hostages,” Gallant said.
“At no stage or in any process towards the end of the war will we recognise the Hamas regime as the government in Gaza.”
Gallant said the IDF's operations in Rafah were “advancing above and below ground.”
He also said the IDF was cutting off Hamas' “oxygen pipeline.”
“Our forces are fighting with great determination to destroy the oxygen pipeline connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt,” Gallant said.
“We are suffocating Hamas so that it cannot continue to exist. Hamas will not have the ability to overcome, strengthen and arm itself.”
Gallant's statement marks the first time a government official has laid out a clear plan for governing the Gaza Strip after Hamas is defeated.
Last month, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz Ultimatum They demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu come up with a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8 or they would quit the coalition government.
The United States is also pressuring Netanyahu to come up with a clear plan for the next days in the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday night the War Cabinet met to discuss the release of the hostages. Ceasefire proposal US President Joe Biden made the proposal on Friday.
Meanwhile, the IDF continues operations in Rafah and the rest of Gaza.
The Givati Brigade Combat Team has been conducting intelligence-based targeted operations in the Ibna district of Rafah over the past few days, eliminating several terrorists and destroying terrorist infrastructure in the area.
During the operation, a large amount of weapons was found, including anti-aircraft machine guns, vests, ammunition, AK-47s and systems for remote activation of explosives.
Additionally, soldiers from the 9th Battalion discovered a rocket launch site near the Philadelphia Corridor.
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