DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- A long-awaited postwar plan by Israel's prime minister shows that his government seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. That was swiftly rejected Friday by Palestinian leaders and runs counter to Washington's vision for the war-ravaged enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the two-page document to his security Cabinet late Thursday for approval.
Deep disagreements over Gaza's future have led to increasingly public friction between Israel and the United States, its closest ally. The Biden administration seeks eventual Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to Palestinian statehood, an outcome vehemently opposed by Netanyahu and his right-wing government. Netanyahu's plan envisions hand-picked Palestinians administering Gaza.
Netanyahu's plan, while lacking specifics, marks the first time he has presented a formal postwar vision. It reiterates that Israel is determined to crush Hamas, the militant group that overran the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Polls have indicated that a majority of Palestinians don't support Hamas, but the group has deep roots in Palestinian society. Critics, including some in Israel, say the goal of eliminating Hamas is unattainable.
Netanyahu's plan calls for freedom of action for Israel's military across a demilitarized Gaza after the war to thwart any security threat. It says Israel would establish a buffer zone inside Gaza, which is likely to provoke U.S. objections.
The plan also envisions Gaza being governed by local officials who it says would "not be identified with countries or entities that support terrorism and will not receive payment from them."
It's not clear whether any Palestinians would agree to such sub-contractor roles. Over the past decades, Israel has repeatedly tried and failed to set up hand-picked local Palestinian governing bodies.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers pockets of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Friday denounced Netanyahu's plan as "colonialist and racist," saying it would amount to Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but maintained control of access to the territory.
Separately, cease-fire efforts appeared to gain traction, with mediators to present a new proposal at an expected high-level meeting this weekend in Paris. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been struggling for weeks to find a formula that could halt Israel's devastating offensive in Gaza, but now face an unofficial deadline as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.
In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes in the center and south of the territory killed at least 92 Palestinians, including children and women, overnight and into Friday, health officials and an Associated Press journalist said. Another 24 bodies remained trapped under the rubble.
U.S., Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials are expected to meet in Paris this weekend to discuss ceasefire efforts. A senior Egyptian official said Egypt and Qatar would bring an understanding reached with Hamas leaders that calls for a six-week ceasefire and the release of elderly and sick hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the press. During the ceasefire, details would be worked out on a further stage.
Hamas has demanded a complete halt to Israel's offensive and a withdrawal of its troops from Gaza in return for releasing all its remaining hostages, as well as the freeing of Palestinians held by Israel, including top militants. Netanyahu has rejected those demands.
After a strike levelled his apartment building in the central town of Deir al-Balah, online video showed Mahmoud Zueitar -- a comedian well known in Gaza for his appearances in TV commercials -- rushing into the hospital holding his young sister, who was screaming and covered in blood. At least 25 people were killed in the strike, 16 of them women and children.
Throughout the war, Zueitar has been posting upbeat and cheerful videos on social media, joking with people about ways they endure bombardment and displacement, praising Palestinian culture and assuring those around him that one day things will be better.
Another video at the hospital showed him cradling his wounded sister in his lap. "I always say, 'God, may they not force us out of Gaza,' that's how much I love it and its people," he says, crying. "But it looks like they want us to leave Gaza." Earlier at the hospital, relatives wept over bodies laid out in burial shrouds in the courtyard, and a man cradled a dead infant.
The overall Palestinian death toll since the start of the war rose to more than 29,500, with close to 70,000 people wounded, Gaza health officials said. The death toll amounts to close to 1.3% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million.
Israeli Border Police officers speak to an elderly Palestinian worshipper as others queue outside of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City ahead of Friday prayers, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Many worshippers were not allowed in and prayed outside instead. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building of the Yaghi family in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building of the Yaghi family in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
A Palestinian holds the body of a child killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue to pray over them at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinians morn by the bodies of their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue to pray over them at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinians pray over the bodies of their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue to pray over them at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
An Israeli Border Police officer searches a Palestinian teen outside of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City ahead of Friday prayers, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Many worshippers were not allowed in and prayed outside instead. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)