Defense Minister Israel Katz accused the Hamas terror group Thursday of continuing to plot and prepare for attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians during the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza, vowing that the military remained ready to prevent Hamas or any other terror group from gaining a foothold on its borders.
Speaking at a conference of regional council chairmen, Katz also said he was accelerating plans to facilitate Gazan civilians to leave the Strip permanently via Israel, seemingly continuing to champion a proposal from US President Donald Trump even as the White House has seemingly backed away from the idea.
With Israel dispatching negotiators to Cairo Thursday for discussions apparently revolving around the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire, Katz said military pressure on Hamas would be key to freeing the nearly five dozen hostages remaining in the Strip.
“The most significant way to continue [releasing hostages] is for Hamas to know that the Israel Defense Forces is ready to return to war—and this is the truth,” he said.
“We are prepared defensively because even during the ceasefire, we received information that they were plotting to attack soldiers and attack towns—this is Hamas,” Katz added.
The defense minister also reiterated that there will be no place for Hamas in the civil or military governance of Gaza after the war, and said he endorsed the vision of US President Donald Trump, who has called for the permanent transfer of all of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents, after which the US would “take over” and “own” the Strip.
“I am in an accelerated process of establishing a voluntary emigration authority and enabling those who want to leave Gaza voluntarily to do so through Ashdod Port, through Ramon Airport,” Katz said on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Katz said he had ordered the army to formulate a plan to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza, adding that he welcomed “Trump’s bold plan, which could allow a large portion of Gaza’s population to relocate to various places around the world.”
Citing conversations with senior military officials, the defense minister said the main takeaway from the Hamas-led October 7 attack — when thousands of terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war — was that Israel cannot allow radical organizations to be present near any of its borders, and stressed the country’s willingness to return to fighting if necessary.
Israel “did not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said, “because we lacked ammunition or because our soldiers were worn out. We agreed to a ceasefire for only one reason—because we want to bring back the hostages alive, and those who are no longer alive.”
The defense minister hailed the success of the truce’s first phase, which saw 25 hostages returned alive alongside the bodies of eight dead. He claimed that Hamas only agreed to release 10 to 12 hostages in the first phase in earlier parts of the negotiations.
He also emphasized that the IDF is continuing to safeguard Israel’s strategic interests during the ceasefire, namely by maintaining a defined buffer zone in Gaza, including outposts along the Gaza-Egypt border, which has been a hotbed of arms smuggling.
“The most significant order we gave was to not allow smuggling through humanitarian aid and not to let in ammunition and weapons. When there are penetrating tunnels, if you do not control this route, then during these 42 days [of ceasefire], everything would have been filled with weapons,” he said.
An Israeli official sent a statement to reporters Thursday rejecting any withdrawal of IDF troops from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, despite the deal’s requirement that it do so by the 50th day of the ceasefire.
Katz also addressed the situation on other fronts, repeating points he has made in recent days about the IDF’s long-term commitments in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.
Concerning the West Bank, Katz called Israeli settlements “the protective shield for the majority of Israel’s population.”
“For me, Judea and Samaria and the border communities are the same,” he said, using a Biblical term for the West Bank. “We discovered that Hamas had planned to attack before October 7 both in Samaria and along the border. I’m talking about files that were seized on this matter.”
The defense minister addressed the ongoing counterterror operation in the West Bank, which was scaled up following a botched bus-bombings attack last week.
“Today, the Jenin refugee camp is empty of residents, and the IDF is inside the camp. I told them they are not leaving the camp for at least a year.”
He also discussed southern Lebanon, where a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group is still holding, as Israel continues to delay the full withdrawal of its forces, staying at five strategic points along the border.
“We are staying without a time limit, it depends on the situations, not on the time,” he said, adding, “We received a green light from the US.”
Katz referred to the new Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda fighter who had a $10 million bounty on his head — by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, and said, “We do not trust him. We only trust the IDF.”
Katz emphasized Israel’s “strong commitment” to the Syrian Druze community, noting that Israel is considering allowing members to work inside Israel on a daily basis, and is “preparing to provide them with assistance through organizations and in various ways.”
He reiterated his demand that southern Syria be demilitarized. Israel has set up a series of military posts there and has vowed to stay in the area as long as it feels is necessary.
“Two days ago, the new regime made its first attempt to man positions and outposts [in southern Syria]—the Air Force attacked and hit them,” Katz noted.