TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the “intense phase” of fighting against Hamas militants in Gaza will be ending “very soon.” But he added that Israel will likely shifts troops to the border with Lebanon, where Israel has engaged in daily skirmishes with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have escalated in recent weeks, raising fears of a wider conflict in the region.
In his interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu said moving troops north would bolster the country’s defensive posture against Hezbollah and allow Israelis who fled the fighting near the Lebanon-Israel border to return home.
He added that while he hopes a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Hezbollah could be found, Israel can “fight on several fronts, and we are also preparing for it.”
While Netanyahu expects fighting in Gaza to wind down as Israeli forces conclude their offensive in Rafah, he stressed that Israel expects to have a military presence there for the foreseeable future.
“We also want to create a civilian administration, if possible, with local Palestinians and maybe with external backing from countries in the region to manage humanitarian supply and later on, civilian affairs in the [Gaza] Strip,” he said.
Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to either Hamas or the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority having a role in managing Gaza.
The U.S. has previously cautioned Israel against a long-term military occupation of the territory.
(VOA)
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