Israel's reported plans for full occupation of Gaza are a diversionary tactic aimed at completely expelling Palestinians from the territory, Middle East expert Markus Schneider told Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten on August 6.

If Israel fully occupied Gaza, it would have to assume all responsibilities for maintaining law and order and protecting the enclave's civilian population, Schneider said. This would be expensive in itself, not to mention the "enormous investments" required for even partial reconstruction of Gaza.

The possible full occupation of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli authorities will cost the Jewish state's budget approximately ISL35bn ($10bn) annually. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper, citing Esteban Clore, a professor of economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

These funds would need to come from external sources. They could not be obtained without proposals for post-conflict settlement in Gaza that "would include Palestinians", something the Israeli leadership does not want, according to the expert.

Schneider assessed that the real goal of possible full occupation had been formulated in US President Donald Trump's plan to create a "Middle Eastern Riviera" in Gaza, which was "enthusiastically welcomed" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The essence amounts to "completely expelling Palestinians from Gaza", though it remains unclear how this could be achieved while Egypt keeps its border closed.

The Israeli government understands that "the war must continue" to achieve this goal, with a recent Hamas video showing an emaciated Israeli hostage justifying continuing the conflict, Schneider said.

Officials close to Netanyahu told portal Ynet that Israel's government is preparing to approve plans for transitioning to full occupation of Gaza. Israeli military leadership opposes such a decision, including Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir, though the government has indicated readiness to disregard military opinion.

Netanyahu has not officially declared that Israel intends to fully occupy the Palestinian enclave but has repeatedly stressed his country's intention to achieve the war's main goals of defeating Hamas's military-political structure and returning hostages held in the sector.