Netanyahu says Israeli forces will not be leaving Gaza amid domestic backlash

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised Israeli forces will not be leaving Gaza, despite references to their withdrawal in the Donald Trump-approved "peace plan".

Trump's plan to end the war on Gaza was unveiled on Monday with a map showing three stages of withdrawal for the Israeli army to be implemented following the release of Israeli captives.

The map - which included no timeframe for each stage - showed Israeli forces moving in the third stage to a "security buffer zone" on the edge of the enclave.

According to the plan, the Israeli army would "progressively" hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) until they are "withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat".

Despite the apparent ambiguity in the language, the inclusion of a promise that Israel would not "occupy or annex Gaza" has already provoked a backlash from Netanyahu's allies, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich denouncing it as a "betrayal".

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