‘Can’t Leave Vacuum, Strong Force May Need to Stay,’ Says Israeli President on Post-War Gaza – News18

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has asserted that a “very strong force” may need to remain in Gaza for the near future to prevent Hamas from re-emerging after the war, adding that “a vacuum” can’t be left behind in the Palestinian enclave.

“If we pull back, then who will take over? We can’t leave a vacuum. We have to think about what will be the mechanism; there are many ideas that are thrown in the air,” Herzog said in an interview with the UK-based Financial Times (FT) published on Thursday. “But no one will want to turn this place, Gaza, into a terror base again”, he added.

Herzog added that Israel’s government was discussing many ideas about how Gaza would be run once the war ends and added that he assumed that the United States and “our neighbours in the region” would have some involvement in the post-conflict order.

This remark comes as pressure mounts on Israel amid the rising death toll in besieged territory, which is home to 2.3 million people and has been controlled by Hamas since 2007. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that he had made it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a two-state solution was the only way to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict and that occupying Gaza would be “a big mistake”.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, says Gaza, where Hamas has ruled since 2007, is an integral part of what it envisions for a future Palestinian state. Israel has promised to eliminate Hamas but has not put forward a plan to determine who would govern Gaza after the war. The Israeli Prime Minister has said that the country would have to maintain overall security responsibility in the enclave for an indefinite period.

Al Shifa

On Thursday, Israel’s military focus remained on Gaza’s biggest hospital Al Shifa where it says Hamas stored weapons and ran a command centre in tunnels beneath the buildings. Israeli troops forced their way into Al Shifa hospital in the early hours of Wednesday and spent the day deepening their search, the army said. An army video showed automatic weapons, grenades, ammunition and flak jackets it said were recovered from an undisclosed building within the complex.

WATCH: Hamas Command Centre, Weapons Found at Gaza Hospital, Israeli Military Says

“The troops continue to search the hospital in a precise, intelligence-based, manner,” army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a press briefing late on Wednesday. Israeli forces raided the Shifa complex on Wednesday evening “for the second time in 24 hours” WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, reported. Bulldozers and military vehicles were used, the agency said, citing local sources.

Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency reported early that Israeli tanks raided Al Shifa from the complex’s southern side and that gunfire was heard in the area. Israel began its campaign against the Islamist group that rules Gaza after militants rampaged through Israel on October 7. So far, 1,200 people have been killed and some 240 people taken hostage.

UNSC

Earlier on Wednesday, the UN Security Council (UNSC) called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses in fighting for a “sufficient number of days” to allow aid access. It also called, in a resolution, for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. Israel has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire, which it says would benefit Hamas.

UN Security Council Adopts Resolution Calling for Urgent Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza

A pause in fighting has been discussed, however, in negotiations mediated by Qatar. Meanwhile, Qatari mediators were seeking a deal that would include a three-day truce, with Hamas releasing 50 of its captives and Israel to release some women and minors from among its security detainees, an official briefed on the negotiations said.

(With agency inputs)