An Israeli minister described the displacement of Gaza Strip residents to the south as similar to the "Nakba", referring to the mass exodus during the war that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

In response to a question whether the scenes of the exodus of Palestinians from northern Gaza resemble the “Nakba,” Security Cabinet member and Minister of Agriculture, Avi Dichter, said that this is the case, adding: “From a practical point of view, there is no way to wage war in the way that the army seeks.” "The Israelis will not do it in Gaza with a large population of people among tanks and soldiers," according to his statements reported by Haaretz newspaper.

When asked again if this was the “Gaza Nakba,” Dichter, who previously ran the Shin Bet, said: “It will be the Gaza Nakba of 2023. This is how it will end.”

When asked again whether Gaza City residents would be allowed to return, he replied: “I don’t know how it will end since Gaza City represents a third of the Strip, half the population but a third of the territory.”

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that after the war, which is now entering its sixth week, the Gaza Strip will be disarmed, and Israel will maintain security control there.

In response to a question about what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said that Israeli forces should be able to enter Gaza when necessary to pursue militants.

With the presence of Israeli forces deep in Gaza about two weeks after the start of a ground operation there to eliminate Hamas militants, speculation is increasing about what the future of the Strip may look like after the end of the fighting.

The United States says that the Palestinians should take over the management of Gaza's affairs after the war, but how to implement this successfully on the ground is still unclear.

At the end of last October, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered that the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, must regain control of the Gaza Strip when the war ends, and that other international parties could also play a role during a transitional period.

Source: Alhurra