Netanyahu Ends Southern Rafah Fighting, Vows Gaza War Until Hamas Surrenders
Image Source: BBC
The devastating war between Israel and Gaza has been ongoing for nearly eight months. On Sunday, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that the intense fighting against Hamas militants operating in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has come to an end. However, he emphasized that this does not mean the war is over; only the intense phase of fighting in Rafah has concluded.
Israel will not stop fighting until Hamas, an Islamist group, no longer controls the Gaza Strip. Following the intense fighting in Gaza, Israel plans to deploy more troops along the northern border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group, is operating as the conflict escalates.
“After the intense phase is finished, we will have the possibility to move part of the forces north. And we will do this. First and foremost for defensive purposes. And secondly, to bring our (evacuated) residents home,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.
He further added that if the Israeli government can achieve this diplomatically, it will do so. If not, they will pursue other means but are committed to bringing the residents back to their homes.
Many Israeli homes and residents near the border with Lebanon have had to be evacuated due to the intense fighting.
Mr. Netanyahu denied and again rejected the idea that the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority should run Gaza in place of Hamas.
“In the end, you will have to do two things: you will need the ongoing military demilitarization by the Israel Defense Forces and you will need to establish a civil administration, I hope that with the support and management of certain countries in the region. I think this is the right way to move forward,” he said in an Israeli television interview.
“I’ll tell you what I’m not ready to do: I’m not ready to establish a Palestinian state there. I’m not ready to hand it over to the Palestinian Authority. I’m not ready to do that,” he further added.
Since the war began in Gaza on October 7, nearly 37,551 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Among these figures, about 14,680 children, women, and elderly people were among the dead by the end of April.
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