Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the “intense phase of the war with Hamas (in Gaza) is about to end,” and that the military’s focus could then shift to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
“It doesn’t mean that the war is going to end, but the war in its current stage is going to end in Rafah. This is true. We will continue mowing the grass later,” Netanyahu told Channel 14 Television in his first one-on-one interview with local Israeli media since October 7.
He also said that he is ready to make “a partial deal” with Hamas to return some hostages, while reiterating his position that the war will still continue after a ceasefire “to achieve the goal of eliminating” Hamas.
“I’m not ready to give that up,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu added that “after the end of the intense phase, we will have the possibility to shift some of the power north, and we will do it.”
“First of all, for protection purposes, and secondly, to bring our residents home as well. If we can do it politically, that would be great. If not, we will do it in another way, but we will bring everyone back home – all the residents of the north and the south,” he added.
