News - Middle East: The Israeli military has been constructing infrastructure and large facilities in Gaza as it plans to remain in the besieged Palestinian territory at least until the end of 2025, a report says.

“The way it looks on the ground, the Israeli army won't leave Gaza before 2026," Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited an invading Israeli officer in Gaza as saying on Wednesday.

The newspaper referred to the construction of buildings, wide roads, and water, sewage and electricity networks in the Palestinian territory.

“The work is progressing at full speed. What was a dirt embankment with the rubble of destroyed buildings a few months ago is now a very active construction site. Wide roads are being built, cellular antennas are going up, water, sewage and electricity networks are going in and of course there are the buildings, some portable and others less so,” Haaretz said.

“The development momentum is in full swing, and the goal – whether it is talked about openly or not – is clear: building the infrastructure for the military's prolonged stay in the field, at least in the first stage.”

According to the report, the military is acting to hold at least four large areas in various parts of the Palestinian strip, particularly “the Netzarim corridor”.

The Netzarim corridor that runs from east to west, was established by the Israeli military in the early months of its genocidal war on Gaza to cut the strip into two and prevent the return of displaced Palestinians to its northern part.

The report added that a “combat graph for 2025” was distributed to the Israeli forces in recent weeks.

Earlier this year, Haaretz reported that Israel’s “indefinite” presence in Gaza is gradually paving the way for illegal settlement in the strip.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed more than 43,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 103,000 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

Source: Press TV