Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that any ceasefire in Gaza will only be a temporary pause in the onslaught. Some believe that Tel Aviv has no plans to agree to any truce and is engaging in talks as a stalling tactic.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that Netanyahu said to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, “After the pause, we will transfer the population in the Strip southward and impose a siege [on northern Gaza].”
The population transfer proposal calls for using a 60-day ceasefire to create a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza. Then Israel will force 600,000 Palestinians into the tent city, followed by the remainder of the population. From there, the Palestinians will be forced to leave Gaza for third countries.
Many, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, have denounced the proposal as creating a concentration camp.
One Middle East diplomat believes Tel Aviv has no desire to make a deal with Hamas. “He is making public statements that a deal is possible and imminent in order to keep the pressure off of him, but it’s starting to feel like a stalling tactic,” an Arab diplomat said.
President Donald Trump has publicly called for a new ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement in Gaza. Hamas is seeking a permanent end to the fighting, while Tel Aviv just wants a short-term pause during a hostage release.
Before Trump took office, he helped to broker a three-stage hostage and ceasefire agreement. Rather than see the full implementation of the deal, which would have freed all Israeli hostages and ended the war, Netanyahu broke the deal in March by imposing a full siege of Gaza and resumed military operations.
