The IDF must look ahead to the future as it operates in the Gaza Strip, Israeli military spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a Sunday evening briefing.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that discussions about what would happen to the Gaza Strip "the day after" the war ends would need to wait until Hamas was defeated.
Netanyahu: Israel can only discuss day after when Gaza war ends
Speaking in a Sunday cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that the "day after must get here first."
"In order to talk about the day after, it needs to get here first. Only the IDF will have control," the prime minister said.
"Obviously, the Strip will be demilitarized. There will be no power except Israel," said Netanyahu.
Also on Sunday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Sunday for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the enclave, making way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom."
"What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip is to encourage emigration," Smotrich told Army Radio. "If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not 2 million Arabs, the entire discussion on the day after will be totally different."