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The Israeli army will remain indefinitely in the so-called security zones it has created in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria, the defence minister said on Wednesday.
"Unlike in the past, the (Israeli military) is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized," said Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The decision could further complicate talks with Hamas on a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave and the release of the remaining hostages.
Israel's forces are present in more than half of Gaza in a renewed campaign following the collapse last month of the ceasefire with the militant group.
It has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group last year.
In Syria, Israel seized a buffer zone in the south of the country after rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria all view the presence of Israeli troops as a military occupation in violation of international law.
Hamas has said it would not release the dozens of remaining hostages without a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire.
In a statement, the main organisation representing families of the captives said that despite promising that the hostages would come first, Israel was in fact choosing territory before all else.
"There is one solution that is desirable and feasible, and that is the release of all the hostages at once as part of an agreement, even at the cost of ending the war," it said.
Israel says it must maintain control of what it refers to as security zones to prevent a repeat of Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others.
Israel's bombardment and ground operations have left vast areas of the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and have displaced around 90% of the population of roughly 2 million people.
Many have been displaced multiple times, and hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps with dwindling food after Israel sealed off the territory from all imports for a second time more than a month ago.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annihilate Hamas and return the remaining 59 hostages who are still in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
He has said that Israel will then implement US President Donald Trump's controversial proposal for the resettlement of much of the enclave’s population to other countries through what Netanyahu refers to as "voluntary emigration".
Palestinians and most Arab countries have universally rejected Trump's proposal, which human rights experts say would likely violate international law.
The Trump administration, which took credit for helping to broker the January ceasefire, has since expressed full support for Israel's decision to end it and to cut off all humanitarian aid.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has been trying to broker a new ceasefire agreement that is more favourable to Israel, but those efforts appear to have made little progress.
