Israel to keep Gaza buffer zone, as truce efforts stall

Israeli troops will remain in the buffer zones they have created in Gaza even after any settlement to end the war, Defence Minister Israel Katz says, as efforts to revive a ceasefire agreement falter.

Since resuming their operation in March, Israeli forces have carved out a broad "security zone" extending deep into Gaza and squeezing more than two million Palestinians into ever smaller areas in the south and along the coastline.

"Unlike in the past, the IDF is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized," Katz said in a statement on Wednesday following a meeting with military commanders, adding that "tens of per cent" of Gaza had been added to the zone.

"The IDF will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and the communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza - as in Lebanon and Syria."

In southern Gaza alone, Israeli forces have seized about 20 per cent of the enclave's territory, taking control of the border city of Rafah and pushing inland up to the so-called "Morag corridor" that runs from the eastern edge of Gaza to the Mediterranean Sea between Rafah and the city of Khan Younis.

It already held a wide corridor across the central Netzarim area and has extended a buffer zone all around the border hundreds of metres inland, including the Shejaia area just to the east of Gaza City in the north.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, including many senior commanders of the Palestinian militant group, but the operation has alarmed the United Nations and European countries.

More than 400,000 Palestinians have been displaced since hostilities resumed on March 18 after two months of relative calm, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Israeli air strikes and bombardments have killed at least 1630 people.

Medical charity MSF said Gaza had become a "mass grave" with humanitarian groups struggling to provide aid.

Katz said Israel, which has blocked the delivery of aid supplies into the territory, was creating infrastructure to allow distribution through civilian companies at a later date.

He said Israel would push forward with a plan to allow Gazans who wished to leave the enclave to do so, although it remains unclear which countries would be willing to accept large numbers of Palestinians.

The comments from Katz, repeating Israel's demand on Hamas to disarm, underscore how far away the two sides remain from any ceasefire agreement, despite efforts by Egyptian mediators to revive efforts to reach a deal.

Hamas has repeatedly described calls to disarm as a red line it will not cross and has said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza under any permanent ceasefire.

Two Israeli officials said there had been no progress in the talks despite media reports of a possible truce to allow the exchange of some of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli officials have said the increased military pressure will force Hamas to release the hostages but the government has faced large demonstrations by Israeli protesters demanding a deal to stop the fighting and get them back.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the October 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that killed 1200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive has killed at least 51,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated the coastal enclave.

On Wednesday, Palestinian medical authorities said an air strike killed 10 people, and a strike on another house further north killed three.