Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz has said that troops will remain in so-called security zones in the besieged Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, as the regime presses ahead with its expansionist agenda across the region. 

Katz said in a recent statement that the military “will remain in the so-called security zones as a buffer between the enemy and Israeli settlers in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza, as in Lebanon and Syria.”

“Unlike in the past, the (Israeli military) is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized,” he added

As a means of ensuring the safety of Israeli occupation soldiers in Gaza, the army will evacuate the “Palestinians from combat zones and soften the ground with massive force from the air, land and sea, using heavy equipment to deal with explosive devices and demolish threatening structures,” said Katz.

The hawkish Israeli minister added that after clearing those areas, they will be “incorporated” into the so-called Israeli security zones to protect the illegal settlements.

This policy, he said, focuses on releasing Israeli captives held in Gaza within the framework of US envoy Steve Witkoff’s plan.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has also said that Israel will implement US President Donald Trump’s vicious scheme for the resettlement of much of Gaza’s population in other countries.

Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected Trump’s proposal, which human rights experts say would violate international law.

Palestinians in Gaza say they don’t want to leave, and fear another mass expulsion like the one that occurred during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.

The Trump administration has expressed full support for Israel’s decision to end the truce and to cut off aid. Trump’s West Asia envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been desperately trying to broker a new ceasefire, more favorable to Israel.

Hamas has said it will not release dozens of remaining captives without a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Katz also said the regime would not allow any humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, confirming that food is being used as a tool of pressure against the Hamas resistance group.

Katz said no preparations were being made to bring supplies into the strip.

“As I mentioned in my statement, Israel’s policy is clear and no humanitarian aid is about to enter Gaza,” he said, adding that aid prevention is “one of the main tools” that Israel is using to pressure Hamas, “in addition to the other steps that Israel is taking.” 

It has been several weeks since Israel has blocked the entry of food, medicine and other critical supplies.

Aid agencies say there are concerns of a full-blown famine taking hold across the blockaded Palestinian territory.

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive have left vast areas of the territory uninhabitable and have displaced around 90% of the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. Many have been displaced multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps with dwindling food as an aid blockade in Gaza imposed by Israel entered its seventh week.

 The UN humanitarian office, or OCHA, said Wednesday that humanitarian workers on the ground are reporting a rise in acute malnutrition across the Gaza Strip.

Water has become increasingly scarce, with Palestinians desperately lining up in front of water trucks, clutching containers and jerrycans.

Omar Shatat, deputy director of Gaza’s Coastal Water Utility, said that each person gets six to seven liters of potable water each day, calling it a “water catastrophe.”

Israel refusing to withdraw from Lebanon and Syria

Israel has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a ceasefire with the Hezbollah resistance movement last year.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that Israel’s continued presence in some areas in Lebanon was “hindering” the Lebanese army’s full deployment as required by a fragile ceasefire that took effect last year.

Two Israeli drone strikes on Wednesday in southern Lebanon killed two people, the health ministry said. The UN said Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 70 civilians since the ceasefire took effect in November.

Following the downfall of President Assad’s government, the Israeli military has been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army.

Israel has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967, also invaded a UN-patrolled buffer zone in southwestern Syria, taking over the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, known as Jabal al-Shaykh in Arabic, as well as several Syrian towns and villages.

The United States recently approved a new shipment of thousands of powerful munitions to the Israeli regime, further reinforcing its military arsenal as Tel Aviv is said to be readying for “vigorous expansion” of its genocidal war across the region.