Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz (Photo:Reuters)

The minister also talked in more detail about what Israel's plans for post-war Gaza might look like, even as he preserved ambiguity on some major points. He said that it’s already basically agreed that Hamas will return 10 living hostages and about half of the deceased hostages, reducing the number of hostages held by Hamas from approximately 50 to approximately 25.

Katz said it’s basically agreed that the IDF will withdraw from much of the 75% of Gazan territory which it has controlled since March, and even more since May, while holding onto a security perimeter as large as or larger than what it held after the January ceasefire.

He revealed that the Defense Ministry intends to build a new humanitarian area in the Rafah area for at least 600,000 Palestinians, which would be free of Hamas. Katz referred to a later date when Gaza will be run by a hybrid of international players, such as Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the US, and maybe others. He continued to insist, however, that the Palestinian Authority will not have a role in managing Gaza.