Israel has reportedly told a number of Arab states that it wants to institute a buffer zone between itself and Gaza to prevent potential attacks in the future. This is just one proposal the Jewish state has put forth that would go into effect after the war ends.
Israel recently informed Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates of its post-war plan, according to Reuters. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and the UAE normalized its relationship with the Jewish state in 2020.
The report noted that Israel also informed Saudi Arabia of its post-war plan. Saudi Arabia and Israel’s goal of normalization suddenly fell through on October 7, which was set to be mediated by the U.S. Turkey was another country informed of Israel’s plan.
Israel’s plan for a buffer zone does not appear to indicate an end to the nation’s offensive in Gaza, which resumed on Friday after a seven-day truce. The Washington Post reported that more than 100 hostages taken by Hamas were released during that time, but it is believed there are 137 more hostages still being kept in Gaza.
The deal between Israel and Hamas was mediated by Qatar, which paused the fighting on November 24, and allowed for the release of women and children. But the fighting restarted on Friday when Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza.
A senior regional security official, who wished not to be identified by nationality, said “Israel wants this buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from the north to the south to prevent any Hamas or other militants from infiltrating or attacking Israel.”
When Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was asked about the possibility of a buffer zone, he said “[t]he plan is more detailed than that. It’s based on a three-tier process for the day after Hamas.”
“A buffer zone may be part of the demilitarisation process,” he continued. He did not clarify if those plans had been discussed with international partners.
Another unidentified regional official familiar with Israel’s plan said that the Jewish state “is ready to pay a costly price to expel and evict Hamas completely from Gaza to other countries in the region similar to what it did in Lebanon, but it’s not the same. Getting rid of Hamas is difficult and not certain.”
It is uncertain how long Israel believes it will take to eliminate Hamas from the region.
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