Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday presented a four-pronged plan for how to handle the Gaza Strip after the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group ends, including putting local Palestinian authorities in charge of civil affairs.

The plan, which was set to be presented in discussions on Thursday evening in both the limited war cabinet and the broader security cabinet, does not include the Palestinian Authority, nor does it recommend resettling Gaza.

The plan marks the first time a senior Israeli official has laid out a detailed blueprint for the Strip after the war, but it does not yet represent official policy, as there are stark differences among the coalition.

Gallant told journalists before the meeting that diplomatic moves must only be made on the assumption that Hamas is no longer in control of Gaza and does not pose a security threat to Israel, and that Israel retains military control, both on the border and on the ground as necessary, and would not be limited in its use of military force. In other words, the war will continue until its goals are achieved.

While these stances are shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the emphasis on Palestinian civilian control over Gaza and the lack of Israeli civilian presence there has angered hardline coalition partners, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaking out against the plan while a member of the war cabinet suggested that the defense minister is merely speaking for himself.

War has raged in the coastal enclave since Hamas’s brutal October 7 massacres, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 hostages — mostly civilians — under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.

In response, Israel vowed to eliminate the terror group, and launched a wide-scale military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas’s military and governance capacities and securing the release of the hostages.

The defense minister’s plan, which has already been presented to the US administration and discussed with other allies, has four “pillars.”

First, Israel will provide information to the civilian operators in Gaza, and be responsible for inspecting incoming goods.

Second, a multinational task force, led by the US in partnership with European and moderate Arab nations, will take responsibility for running civil affairs and the economic rehabilitation of the Strip.

Third, Egypt, which is noted as a “major actor” in the plan, will take responsibility for the civilian border crossing to the Gaza Strip, in coordination with Israel.

Fourth, existing administrative mechanisms will be maintained, provided that officials are not affiliated with Hamas. Local authorities that currently deal with sewage, electricity, water and humanitarian aid distribution will continue to operate, in collaboration with the multinational task force.

Top security officials told The Times of Israel that the transition of responsibilities to the hands of the local administration under the plan will need to be carried out gradually, and not all at once, given the existing infrastructure.

The officials also noted that the breakdown of local government areas in the plan was based on mapping of clans, local governments, government officials and even academics living in Gaza’s cities and refugee camps.

In the press briefing, Gallant that Palestinian Authority involvement was not relevant at this stage, as it has not gone through necessary reforms.

Netanyahu has been insistent that the PA, in its current form under the leadership of President Mahmud Abbas, cannot be tasked with taking over Gaza after the war.

However, the allies tapped for the multinational task force have repeatedly made clear that their support for the reconstruction of Gaza is conditioned on the PA being the governing body that reunites the Strip with the West Bank and that the process be part of a broader initiative aimed at an eventual two-state solution.

US and Israeli officials have told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu’s aides have privately expressed their support for an “RPA” or “reformed PA,” eventually governing Gaza, while the premier himself has not spoken publicly about this idea amid fears of alienating far-right ministers Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

But more unpopular than talk of a PA-controlled Gaza Strip after October 7 would be an Israeli commitment to move toward a two-state solution, and Gallant did not specify how Israel plans to recruit allies abroad to help it rebuild the Strip without taking steps toward Palestinian statehood.

Gallant’s plan also stated that residents of northern Gaza will not be permitted to return to their homes until all hostages held by terrorists in Gaza are returned, and noted that there are no plans for a reoccupation or resettlement of Gaza after the goals of the war have been achieved.

His comments come after recent calls by Smotrich and Ben Gvir to resettle Gazans abroad and reestablish settlements in Gaza caused widespread international condemnation, including from the US.

It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.