Israel reveals post-war Gaza plans; Rafah overwhelmed with refugees

Israel's post-war plans

Israel's defense minister has publicly presented for the first time proposals for the post-war administration of Gaza, where the military on Friday reported deadly overnight strikes.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's plan for the "day after" - shared with the media late Thursday but not yet adopted by Israel's war cabinet - says that neither Israel nor Hamas will govern Gaza and rejects future Jewish settlements there.

According to Gallant's proposed outline, the war will continue until Israel has dismantled Hamas's "military and governing capabilities" and secured the return of hostages taken on October 7.

After Israel achieves its objectives - for which the proposal sets no timeline - Palestinian "civil committees" will begin assuming the territory's governance, it said.

"Hamas will not govern Gaza, (and) Israel will not govern Gaza's civilians," says the text, which offers little concrete details.

"Palestinian bodies will be in charge, with the condition that there will be no hostile actions or threats against the State of Israel."

Israel 'strikes over 100 targets’

Bombing continued through the night in the southern areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah as well as parts of central Gaza, according to AFP correspondents.

The Israeli army said its forces had "struck over 100 targets" across Gaza over the past 24 hours, including military positions, rocket launch sites and weapons depots.

A fighter jet hit the central area of Bureij overnight, killing "an armed terrorist cell" after what the army described in a statement as an attempted attack on an Israeli tank.

And "a number" of Palestinian militants were killed in clashes in Khan Yunis, a major city in southern Gaza that has become the focus of the fighting, the army said.

Health 'collapse' 

Conditions for Gaza's civilians are precarious, with the United Nations estimating 1.9 million of the territory's 2.4 million people are displaced.

Footage showed entire families, seeking safety from the violence, arriving in the southern border city of Rafah in overloaded cars and on foot, pushing handcarts stacked with bedding and other possessions.

"We fled Jabalia camp to Maan (in Khan Yunis) and now we are fleeing from Maan to Rafah," said one woman who declined to give her name. "(We have) no water, no electricity and no food."

A spokesman for the UN refugee for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said that Rafah is overwhelmed by the influx.

"The city is usually home to only 250,000 persons. And now, it's more than 1.3 million," said Adnan Abu Hasna.

"We have recently noticed a major collapse in health conditions" and a "significant spread" of disease, he added.

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