Hamas has strongly condemned Israel's announced plan to establish three new settlement outposts in northern Gaza, describing the move as further evidence of what it called Israel's ongoing policy of forced displacement and colonization of Palestinian land in violation of international law.

In statements issued on Tuesday, the Palestinian resistance movement said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz's announcement reflects the Israeli government's continued efforts to alter the demographic and geographic reality of the occupied Palestinian territories while disregarding international legal obligations and United Nations resolutions.

Hamas said the proposed settlements form part of a broader strategy aimed at entrenching Israel's occupation and preventing Palestinians from exercising their legitimate national rights.

"What the criminal occupation's war minister, Israel Katz, announced regarding his intention to establish three settlement outposts in northern Gaza once again exposes the mindset of displacement and ethnic cleansing that governs the leaders of the Zionist occupation," the movement said in a statement.

According to Hamas, the proposal demonstrates Israel's determination to continue expanding settlements and consolidating control over Palestinian land despite widespread international opposition and repeated UN resolutions declaring such activities illegal.

The movement also accused Israel of seeking to impose irreversible realities on the ground through military force and settlement expansion while continuing its military campaign in Gaza.

Hamas urged the mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, including the United States and other international actors, to assume their responsibilities by taking immediate steps to halt Israel's settlement plans and prevent further violations against the Palestinian people.

The movement warned that failure to stop Israel's expansionist policies would further undermine prospects for peace and deepen the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas also pointed to reported remarks by Israel Katz expressing satisfaction over the widespread destruction in Gaza, arguing that such statements reveal what it described as deliberate intent behind Israel's military campaign against the besieged enclave.

Calling for international accountability, Hamas urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other judicial bodies to investigate Katz and other Israeli officials for alleged war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.

The latest settlement announcement comes as Gaza continues to face catastrophic humanitarian conditions following months of Israeli military operations that have devastated residential neighborhoods, damaged essential civilian infrastructure, and displaced much of the territory's population. Palestinian officials and human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion and military actions threaten to further erode the prospects for a just and lasting resolution to the conflict. (ILKHA)