Israel plans to oversee Gaza security for 'indefinite' time

As the Israeli military campaign against Hamas entered its second month, PM Benjamin Netanyahu offered the clearest indication to date about what Israel has planned for the war's aftermath, warning that Israel will need to oversee the security of the Gaza Strip once the fighting is over. His plan, if enacted, would appear to stop short of a full reoccupation of Gaza - a move that the US and others have warned against.He provided few details about the post-war plan and said the security situation would be "for an indefinite period", in an interview that aired on Monday.
Netanyahu did not say who he thought should govern the enclave after Hamas, which now governs it, is gone. But asked specifically, Netanyahu responded only that he thought Israel would "have the overall security responsibility" over the territory indefinitely. "We've seen what happens when we don't have it. When we don't have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale we couldn't imagine," he said.
Late on Tuesday, Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant said the military is operating deep within Gaza City, the stronghold of the Palestinian group Hamas. "IDF forces are in the heart of Gaza City. They came from the north and the south. They stormed it in full coordination between land, air and sea forces," Gallant said in a televised news conference. "They are manoeuvring on foot, armoured vehicles and tanks, along with military engineers from all directions and they have one target - Hamas terrorists in Gaza, their infrastructure, their commanders, bunkers, communication rooms. They are tightening the noose around Gaza City," Gallant said. Netanyahu also issued a statement, saying: "Gaza City is encircled.We are operating inside it."
Israel previously said it had surrounded Gaza City, home to around a third of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people, and would soon attack it to annihilate Hamas fighters who assaulted Israeli towns across the border one month ago. Hamas military wing said its fighters were inflicting heavy losses and damage on advancing Israeli forces. It was not possible to verify the battlefield claims of either side.
War began on Oct. 7 when Hamas fighters burst across the fence enclosing Gaza and killed 1,400 Israelis, and abducted more than 200, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has unrelentingly bombarded Hamas-run Gaza, killing over 10,000 people, around 40% of them kids, according to tallies by officials there.