GAZA CITY, July 6 (MENA) - The Israeli Cabinet approved the establishment of zones for distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip intended to separate civilians from Hamas following a meeting that lasted five and a half hours and ended Sunday.

Yedioth Ahronoth said the decision comes as an Israeli delegation heads to Doha to join the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, despite Israel’s rejection of the conditions set by Hamas on the latest proposal.

During the meeting, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich voted against the decision, claiming that no aid should be allowed into Gaza until Hamas is defeated.

The newspaper added that, according to Israeli sources, Hamas’s recent demand for the United Nations (UN) and its agencies to supervise humanitarian aid - that would effectively mean the withdrawal of Israeli humanitarian relief forces from Gaza - is among the most contentious points.

Other disputed issues expected to dominate the talks include determining the locations where Israeli army forces would be stationed after withdrawing from certain areas of the Strip, the paper said.

Israel insists on maintaining a 1,250-meter security buffer along the Gaza border and a southern withdrawal line extending to the Morag corridor, it addde.

It also plans to relocate all Palestinian residents south of this line to an area that will remain under Israeli control, said the paper.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the Israeli army’s Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, to prepare a detailed evacuation plan to be presented upon his return from Washington, it added. (MENA)

S A S/D A E