Israel declares fierce fighting with Hamas is about to end, shifting the focus of the conflict to Lebanon

" That does not mean the war will end, but the war at its current stage will end in Rafah. This is true ," Netanyahu told Channel 14 television.

Netanyahu said he was ready to make a partial deal with Hamas to free some hostages, while reiterating that the war would continue after the ceasefire to achieve the goal of eliminating Hamas. " I'm not ready to give up on that ," Netanyahu stressed.

“ After the end of the fierce conflict with Hamas, we can shift our focus to the northern border with Lebanon. First of all for protection and secondly to allow the residents to return to their homes. If we can do it politically , that would be great. If not, we will do it in other ways, ” the Israeli government leader said, according to CNN.

Lebanon's Hezbollah, the most powerful Iran-backed militant group in the Middle East, has engaged in near-daily cross-border gun battles with the Israeli military since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted in October 2023. Hezbollah says its goal is to support the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: AP

In a new interview, when asked whether his solution to ending the conflict with Hezbollah was through diplomacy or military force, Netanyahu replied: “ If there is a deal, it will be a deal on our terms. Our terms are not to end the war, leave the Gaza Strip and leave Hamas intact. I will not leave Hamas intact. We need to get rid of Hamas.”

Israel launched a war in the Gaza Strip following Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. The Hamas offensive left about 1,200 people dead and more than 250 hostages taken. Since then, the Israeli campaign has killed more than 37,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza's health authority.

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