Netanyahu Says Demobilization is a Prerequisite for Reconstruction in Gaza

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that reconstruction in the Gaza Strip would not take place without dismantling the military infrastructure in the strip and disarming militant groups.

Netanyahu said the residents of Gaza were free to choose to stay or leave, provided they did not pose a threat, adding "the threat from Gaza has been eliminated," Al Arabiya and AFP reported (6/7).

This, he added, was achieved through a buffer zone created by Israel inside the Palestinian Pocket Territory.

Netanyahu also said the removal of the threat from Gaza had increased demand for housing in settlements near the Gaza border, citing what he described as an improvement in the security situation in the area.

Hamas' unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered a devastating military response against the Gaza Strip.

More than two and a half years later, Gaza is still trapped in a dire humanitarian crisis, and despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October 2021, efforts to end the war definitively have stalled for months.

Quoted from Anadolu, the number of Palestinian deaths since the Israeli aggression in October 2023 has reached 73,090, while 173,553 others were injured.

Meanwhile, since the October 2025 ceasefire, Israeli military violations have killed 1,066 people in Gaza and injured 3,445 others.

Israeli aggression also caused 90 percent damage to civilian infrastructure in Gaza, with the United Nations estimating the reconstruction cost would reach 70 billion US dollars.