Netanyahu says Israel is winding down its Gaza operations. But he warns a Lebanon war could be next

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the current phase of the fight against Hamas in Gaza is declining, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group. Hezbollah.

The comments threatened to further escalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at a time when they appear to be moving closer to war. Netanyahu also noted that there is no end in sight to the devastating war in Gaza.

The Israeli leader said in a lengthy television interview that while the army is close to completing its current ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, that would not mean that war against Hamas it’s over. But he said fewer troops would be needed in Gaza, freeing up forces to fight Hezbollah.

“We will have the possibility of transferring some of our forces to the north, and we will do so,” he told Israel’s Channel 14, a pro-Netanyahu television channel, in an interview that was frequently interrupted by applause from the studio audience. “First of all, for defense,” he added, but also to allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return to their homes.

Hezbollah, backed by Iran, began attacking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border attack that sparked the Gaza war. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire almost every day since then, but fighting has intensified in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown war.

Hezbollah is much stronger than Hamas, and opening a new front would increase the risk of a broader, regional war involving other Iranian proxies and perhaps Iran itself, which could cause extensive damage and massive casualties on both sides of the conflict. border.

White House envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week meeting with officials from Israel and Lebanon in an effort to reduce tensions. But the fighting has continued.

Netanyahu said he hoped a diplomatic solution to the crisis could be found, but promised to resolve the issue “in a different way” if necessary. “We can fight on several fronts and we are prepared to do so,” he said.

He said any deal would not just be “an agreement on paper.” He said it would require Hezbollah to be away from the border, a law enforcement mechanism and the return of Israelis to their homes. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated shortly after the fighting broke out and have not been able to return to their homes.

Hezbollah has said it will continue fighting Israel until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. The group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Israel last week against launching a war, saying Hezbollah It has new weapons and intelligence capabilities. that could help him target deeper, more critical positions within Israel.

Hezbollah has already introduced new weapons during low-level fighting, including difficult-to-defend attack drones that attack without warning. An Israeli soldier was seriously injured on Sunday in a drone attack.

But Israel says it has also shown Hezbollah only a small part of its full capabilities and that Lebanon will become a second Gaza if there is a war. Last week, Israel’s military said it had “approved and validated” a new plan for an offensive in Lebanon.

In the interview, Netanyahu said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza is coming to an end. The Israeli army has been operating in the southern border town of Rafa since the beginning of May. He says he has inflicted serious damage on Hamas in Rafah, which he has identified as the last remaining Hamas stronghold after a brutal war that lasted nearly nine months. But he said Israel would have to continue “mowing” operations, attacks aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping.

Israel launched its air and ground invasion of Gaza immediately after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 more hostage.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, sparked a humanitarian crisis and unleashed war crimes and genocide. cases in the world’s most important courts in The Hague.

Tensions have also increased with the United States, with the President Joe Biden and Netanyahu clashed publicly during the course of the war. Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu again repeated his say that there has been a “dramatic drop” in arms shipments from the United States, Israel’s closest ally, hampering the war effort.

Biden has delayed delivery certain heavy bombs since May over concerns of numerous civilian casualties, but his administration struck back last week against Netanyahu’s accusations that other shipments had also been affected.

Although the United States and other mediators are pushing a ceasefire plan, Netanyahu has ruled out ending the war until Israel frees all hostages held by Hamas and until it destroys Hamas’ military and governance capabilities.

The current phase of the war “is about to end,” Netanyahu said. “That doesn’t mean the war is about to end.”

Netanyahu spoke while his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, was in Washington for talks with US officials about the war and tensions with Lebanon. And next month, Netanyahu will be invited to deliver a speech in Congress that is already dividing Washington along partisan lines. Some Democrats, angered by Netanyahu’s public fight with Biden, say they will not attend.

US officials have also been pressing Netanyahu to spell out a clear post-war plan for Gaza. The United States has said it will not accept a long-term Israeli occupation of the territory.

Netanyahu expressed a very different view. He said the only way to guarantee Israel’s security is for Israel to maintain military control over the territory.

“There’s no one else” capable of doing that, he said. But he said he is looking for a way to create a Palestinian “civil administration” to manage day-to-day affairs in Gaza, hopefully with the backing of moderate Arab countries. He ruled out any role for the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which was driven out of Gaza by Hamas in a violent 2007 takeover.

Netanyahu said that several months ago the Israeli military considered working with prominent Palestinian families in Gaza, but that Hamas immediately “destroyed” them. He said Israel is now looking at other options.

Netanyahu ruled out an option favored by some of his ultra-nationalist ruling partners: resettling Israelis in Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, ending a 38-year presence.

“The issue of the agreement is not realistic,” he said. “I’m realist”.