Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz made escalatory statements on Wednesday evening, in which he confirmed that security control over the Gaza Strip will remain in Israel's hands, with his country intending to maintain security areas, buffer zones, and control sites within the Strip.

The remarks come amid sensitive negotiations over a prisoner swap and ceasefire deal, contradicting claims by the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they are seriously seeking a deal to return Israeli prisoners from Gaza.

During his visit to the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, accompanied by senior military leaders, Katz said that he came to Gaza to meet with commanders and soldiers who he claimed were "doing a great job to ensure Israel's security and create the conditions for the release of the kidnapped soldiers," according to a statement from his office.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 153,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Katz stressed, according to the same statement, that the Israeli army will continue to maintain security control in Gaza under the pretext of ensuring the prevention of future threats, including tunnels and military infrastructure of Palestinian factions.

He added, stressing: "What we saw of threats and penetration tunnels will not happen again."

He continued: "We will make sure that security control over Gaza is in the hands of the Israeli army, which will be allowed to operate anywhere in the Strip in order to prevent threats."

He said that Israel will also ensure the preservation of security areas, buffer zones and control sites within the Strip, without providing further details in this regard.

Despite these escalatory statements that may complicate the current negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange, Katz claimed that his government "will work - despite all this - to achieve the two goals of the war, which are the release of all the kidnapped, and the defeat of Hamas."

Katz pledged that Hamas would not remain in power in Gaza, "neither authoritatively nor militarily."

Despite all of Tel Aviv's rosy statements regarding the negotiations on Gaza led by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators with the Israeli and Palestinian sides and the proximity of reaching a deal, it seems that Netanyahu's government is once again repeating the policy of evasion and setting new conditions, which may lead to sabotaging this round of negotiations.

On Wednesday, Hamas accused the "Israeli occupation of setting new issues and conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of displaced persons, which delayed reaching the agreement that was available."

Hamas confirmed in a statement that this was happening despite the fact that the negotiations were "progressing seriously in Doha" and despite its showing "responsibility and flexibility" to make them a success.

But Netanyahu's office claimed in a statement that the Palestinian movement was creating "new obstacles" to reaching a deal.

The prisoner exchange negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have faltered more than once, due to Netanyahu’s insistence on “continuing control over the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, and the Rafah crossing in Gaza, and preventing the return of Palestinian faction fighters to northern Gaza by searching returnees through the Netzarim corridor in the middle of the Strip.”

For its part, Hamas insists on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip and a complete cessation of war, in order to accept any agreement.

Tel Aviv is holding more than 10,300 Palestinians in its prisons, while it estimates that there are 100 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas announced the killing of dozens of its prisoners in random Israeli raids.