The Israeli prime minister reiterated that he would not agree to any agreement that would require an end to the eight-month war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that he is open to a “partial” agreement that would facilitate the return of some captives still detained in Gaza, even if not all.
He reiterated, however, that he would not agree to any agreement that stipulated an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, despite previous claims by the United States that an Israeli proposal would be a path to ending the offensive.
“The objective is to return those kidnapped and uproot the Hamas regime in Gaza,” he said in an interview with Israeli media outlet Channel 14 on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have consistently demonstrated against Netanyahu and his government, demanding early elections and an agreement to return captives.
Last month, US President Joe Biden announced a proposed ceasefire, which would entail a six-week pause in fighting, as well as the release of some Israeli prisoners in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. These exchanges would then allow negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
Although US officials insisted that Israel was the author of the proposal, several Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, pledged to continue fighting until Hamas was eliminated and refused to publicly support it in full.
Netanyahu also told Channel 14 that Israel’s “intense” military offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah was almost over.
“The intense phase of the fight against Hamas is about to end,” he said. “This does not mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah.”
‘Civil administration’
Netanyahu, in his first interview with an Israeli media outlet since the start of the war in Gaza, once again rejected the idea that the occupied Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, governs Gaza instead of Hamas.
“We also want to create a civil administration, if possible with local Palestinians and perhaps with external support from countries in the region, to manage humanitarian provision and, later, civil affairs in the Strip,” he said.
“Ultimately, there are two things that need to happen: we need continued demilitarization by the [Israeli military] and the establishment of a civil administration.”
The Gaza Strip has been wracked by more than eight months of war since a Hamas-led attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,139 people, with dozens still held captive in Gaza.
Since then, Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 37,598 people, according to the Palestinian territory’s Ministry of Health.
Troops advance towards Lebanon
Netanyahu said troops would soon be deployed to the northern border with Lebanon, but for “defensive purposes.”
“After the intense phase ends, we will have the possibility of moving part of the forces to the north. And we will do that. Firstly, for defensive purposes. And secondly, to bring our [evacuated] residents at home,” Netanyahu told Channel 14.
“If we can, we will do it diplomatically. Otherwise, we will do it another way. But we will bring [the residents] home,” he said.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced from northern Israel and southern Lebanon, which have seen almost daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters since the start of the war in Gaza.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
