Asked about Israel’s plans for a buffer zone in Gaza, Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Reuters: “The plan is more detailed than that. It’s based on a three-tier process for the day after Hamas.”

Outlining the Israeli government’s position, he said the three tiers involved destroying Hamas, demilitarising Gaza and de-radicalising the enclave.

“A buffer zone may be part of the demilitarisation process,” he said. He declined to offer details when asked whether those plans had been raised with international partners, including Arab states.

Arab states have dismissed as impossible Israel’s goal of wiping out Hamas, saying it was more than simply an armed force that could be defeated.