section_path: Post-war plans/Israeli leaders' plans
section_name: Israeli leaders' plans
paragraph_text: Israeli leaders' plans
  
  In February 2025, the leader of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, proposed that Gaza be returned to Egypt for up to 15 years in exchange for the cancellation of its external debt. Egypt rejected the proposal stating it undermined the Palestinian cause.
  
  On 2 April, Israel Katz announced the Israeli government's intention to "seize large areas" of Gaza as large air and ground operations resumed following the end of the March ceasefire. On 17 April, Katz said that Israeli forces would remain in areas of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely. On 5 May, the Israeli cabinet approved plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip and occupy it for an unspecified amount of time. Far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said that Gaza would be "entirely destroyed" in Israel's new offensive and that the population would be expelled to other countries.