Israel Will Not Withdraw from Gaza, Katz Declares Amid US Pushback

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has doubled down on his vision for a long-term Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip, declaring Thursday that Israel “will never leave the Gaza Strip,” despite mounting pressure from the United States to avoid any talk of reestablishing settlements.

Speaking at the Bnei Akiva and Makor Rishon national education conference, Katz outlined plans to surround “a large area of Gaza” and to deploy IDF-linked Nahal nucleus groups youth military-service units integrated with community service specifically in northern Gaza. These groups, traditionally used to help solidify Israeli presence in strategic areas, would be tasked with “protecting settlements,” Katz said.

His remarks come just days after a previous statement at the West Bank community of Beit El triggered diplomatic tension with the United States. There, Katz spoke of establishing new Nahal nuclei “in place of the communities that were evacuated,” suggesting a broader intention to reassert Israeli control over parts of Gaza.

Those comments prompted a swift and pointed response from American officials working out of the US Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, a facility that oversees the implementation of the Trump-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal. “The more Israel provokes, the less the Arab countries want to work with them,” a US official reportedly said.

In response to the criticism, Katz’s office issued a clarifying statement in both English and Hebrew: “The defense minister’s remarks regarding the integration of Nahal nuclei in northern Gaza were made strictly in security-related contexts. The government has no intention of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip.”

Yet Katz’s latest comments suggest a hardened stance. He emphasized Israel's “practical sovereignty” over parts of Gaza and described a rare historical window for asserting that control. “There are opportunities here that have not existed for a very long time,” he said.

Nahal nucleus programs, which combine military service with nation-building, have historically been a tool for establishing footholds in areas of strategic and ideological importance. Their reintroduction to Gaza decades after Israel’s full withdrawal in 2005 marks a significant policy signal, one that reflects a growing consensus in parts of the Israeli government that the status quo cannot return following Hamas's October 7 atrocities.

With pressure building both internationally and at home, Katz’s remarks underscore a broader Israeli shift toward long-term security control over critical parts of Gaza. While the United States and other allies continue to push for restraint and de-escalation, Israel’s leadership is making clear that it will not compromise when it comes to protecting its people and securing its borders.

As history has shown, when Israel says "never again," it means it.

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