Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will end the intense stage of fighting in Gaza soon and redeploy some forces to northern Israel where violence with Lebanon-based Hezbollah has escalated and triggered fears of another all-out conflict.
Israel will now use more targeted operations against Hamas in Gaza, Netanyahu said, when asked in a TV interview with Israel’s Channel 14 aired late Sunday whether fighting in the southern city of Rafah will end in a month’s time.
“It will be very soon,” Netanyahu said in his first interview with an Israeli media outlet since the Oct. 7 attacks in which Hamas militants invaded from Gaza, killing 1,200 people, kidnapping another 250 and triggering what has now become an eight-month war with Israel.
Netanyahu said the next step for the military will be for Israel to redeploy some forces to northern Israel, where cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah have spiked, and to bring home local residents who were evacuated.
“If we can, we’ll do this by diplomatic means, if not it’ll be achieved in another way,” Netanyahu said, echoing weeks of escalating rhetoric between Israel and Hezbollah.
US officials have been concerned that open warfare may break out between Israel and Hezbollah, the political party and heavily armed militia in Lebanon backed by Iran. The war in Gaza has stirred long-standing frictions with Hezbollah and other Iran-backed proxy groups in the Middle East.
Israel’s military said last week operational planning for an offensive in Lebanon had been approved.
Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza last year — aimed at returning the hostages and uprooting Hamas as a military and political entity — has killed some 37,000 Palestinians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave who don’t distinguish between fighters and civilians. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.
In the interview, Netanyahu directly rejected, for the first time, the prospect of a cease-fire deal with Hamas that could eventually lead to the end of war – as laid out in a speech by US President Joe Biden several weeks ago.
“If there is an agreement, it will be on our terms and that would not mean ending the war, withdrawing from Gaza and leaving Hamas rule intact,” he said.
“I am willing to agree to a partial deal that will see some of the Israeli hostages come home, and after such cease-fire ends, we will be committed to continuing the fighting until the goal of eliminating Hamas is completed,” he said.
His interview angered families of hostages, who blame him for abandoning the group of 120 which remains in Gaza. This is “violating the country’s moral duty toward its citizens,” a statement by hostage family members issued after the interview said.
Netanyahu’s office issued a later statement saying he was in fact committed to bringing back all the hostages.
“It is Hamas that opposes a deal, not Israel,” the statement read. “Netanyahu has made clear we will not leave Gaza until we return all hostages, living and deceased.”
Israel will now use more targeted operations against Hamas in Gaza, Netanyahu said, when asked in a TV interview with Israel’s Channel 14 aired late Sunday whether fighting in the southern city of Rafah will end in a month’s time.
“It will be very soon,” Netanyahu said in his first interview with an Israeli media outlet since the Oct. 7 attacks in which Hamas militants invaded from Gaza, killing 1,200 people, kidnapping another 250 and triggering what has now become an eight-month war with Israel.
Netanyahu said the next step for the military will be for Israel to redeploy some forces to northern Israel, where cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah have spiked, and to bring home local residents who were evacuated.
“If we can, we’ll do this by diplomatic means, if not it’ll be achieved in another way,” Netanyahu said, echoing weeks of escalating rhetoric between Israel and Hezbollah.
US officials have been concerned that open warfare may break out between Israel and Hezbollah, the political party and heavily armed militia in Lebanon backed by Iran. The war in Gaza has stirred long-standing frictions with Hezbollah and other Iran-backed proxy groups in the Middle East.
Israel’s military said last week operational planning for an offensive in Lebanon had been approved.
Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza last year — aimed at returning the hostages and uprooting Hamas as a military and political entity — has killed some 37,000 Palestinians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave who don’t distinguish between fighters and civilians. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.
In the interview, Netanyahu directly rejected, for the first time, the prospect of a cease-fire deal with Hamas that could eventually lead to the end of war – as laid out in a speech by US President Joe Biden several weeks ago.
“If there is an agreement, it will be on our terms and that would not mean ending the war, withdrawing from Gaza and leaving Hamas rule intact,” he said.
“I am willing to agree to a partial deal that will see some of the Israeli hostages come home, and after such cease-fire ends, we will be committed to continuing the fighting until the goal of eliminating Hamas is completed,” he said.
His interview angered families of hostages, who blame him for abandoning the group of 120 which remains in Gaza. This is “violating the country’s moral duty toward its citizens,” a statement by hostage family members issued after the interview said.
Netanyahu’s office issued a later statement saying he was in fact committed to bringing back all the hostages.
“It is Hamas that opposes a deal, not Israel,” the statement read. “Netanyahu has made clear we will not leave Gaza until we return all hostages, living and deceased.”
