Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that troops will remain in so-called security zones in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely.

“Unlike in the past, the (Israeli military) is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized,” Israel Katz said in a statement. The military “will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and (Israeli) communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza — as in Lebanon and Syria.”

Katz said also said the country would continue to block humanitarian aid from entering the war-battered Gaza Strip, where intense aerial and ground assaults have resumed.

“Israel’s policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population,” Katz said in a statement, days after the UN warned the territory was facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023. Israel has blocked aid from entering since March 2.

Israeli forces have taken over large areas of Gaza in recent weeks in a renewed campaign to pressure Hamas to release hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire last month. Israel has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group last year, and it seized a buffer zone in southern Syria after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.