Israeli defence minister orders military to prepare plan to resume assault in Gaza if ceasefire collapses

Tel Aviv: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned that if Hamas does not demilitarise and return all bodies of hostages it holds, Israel will return to fighting. The threat came on the sixth day of a fragile ceasefire, as Hamas handed over the remains of two more hostages on Wednesday (local time) and said they were the last bodies in its custody. In a statement, Katz said: “If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will return to fighting and act to achieve the absolute defeat of Hamas, alter the situation in Gaza and attain all the objectives of the war.”

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In a meeting earlier on Wednesday with the chief of staff and senior military officers, Katz instructed the military to prepare “a comprehensive plan to defeat Hamas” should Israel decide to resume its campaign in Gaza. He said the plan was to be drafted should Hamas “refuse to implement (US President Donald) Trump’s plan and fighting needs to be renewed.” Katz added that, under Trump’s plan, Hamas is required to return all bodies of deceased hostages in its custody and disarm, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said Israel, together with an international force led by the United States, “would move to destroy all tunnels and terror infrastructure in Gaza to ensure the strip is demilitarised and poses no threat to the State of Israel.” The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, went into effect on Friday after more than two years of Israeli bombardments that, according to reports, caused famine, left the enclave in ruins, and killed almost 70,000 people, with the United Nations, academic experts and international aid groups warning Israel may have committed genocide and other crimes against humanity.