A day after Israel鈥檚 prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 鈥榠ntense phase鈥� of the Gaza war is winding down, the army bombed Hamas on Monday as the Palestinian militant group again demanded a permanent end to the fighting.
The right-wing premier spoke in a TV interview Sunday evening as his defence minister Yoav Gallant travelled to Washington for what Gallant called 鈥榗ritical鈥� talks with Israel鈥檚 top ally and arms supplier.
Netanyahu, in his first Israeli media interview since Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attack started the bloodiest ever Gaza war, told Channel 14 that 鈥榯he intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end鈥�.
He stressed that this 鈥榙oesn鈥檛 mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah,鈥� the far-southern city near Egypt that is the last part of Gaza to face a full ground invasion.
鈥楾he goal is to return the kidnapped and uproot the Hamas regime in Gaza,鈥� he said, again rejecting the permanent ceasefire demanded by Hamas over recent months of on-and-off talks involving US and other international mediators.
Netanyahu said Israel would then be able to 鈥榬edeploy some forces to the north鈥� on the border with Lebanon, where Israel has traded fire with the Hezbollah movement, but said this would be 鈥榩rimarily for defensive purposes鈥�.
As fears of a full-scale war in Lebanon have grown in recent weeks, Netanyahu said Israel would return its displaced citizens to their evacuated northern border communities, through diplomacy or by 鈥榓nother way鈥�.
When asked about Gaza post-war scenarios, he said Israel would maintain 鈥榤ilitary control in the foreseeable future鈥� but that 鈥榳e also want to create a civilian administration, if possible with local Palestinians鈥� and regional backing.
Hamas slammed Netanyahu鈥檚 comments as a 鈥榗lear confirmation of his rejection of the recent UN Security Council resolution and the proposal of US president Joe Biden,鈥� who has urged a hostage release and truce agreement.
Hamas insisted any such deal must include a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal in order to stop what it called 鈥楴etanyahu鈥檚 attempts to evade, deceive and perpetuate the aggression and war of extermination against our people鈥�.
Israeli forces kept bombing targets on Monday across the besieged Gaza Strip, including in the Nuseirat and Rafah areas, witnesses said, while gun battles were reported in Zeitun.
The Israeli military said troops in the Rafah area had 鈥榚liminated a number of armed terrorists鈥�, dismantled tunnel shafts and found 鈥榣arge amounts of weapons鈥�.
In Gaza City, in the north, Al-Ahli hospital medics said late Sunday that at least five people were killed in an air strike on a facility of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
The Israeli military said its jets struck militants who had 鈥榦perated from within buildings that previously served as an UNRWA headquarters鈥�.
Israel has faced a global outcry over the surging civilian death toll, the punishing siege and the large-scale destruction in Gaza, and tensions have also grown between Netanyahu and Biden.
In his interview, Netanyahu said that Israel鈥檚 fight against Iran-backed Hamas also aims 鈥榯o set an example, to show that this would be the fate of those who massacre Jews鈥�, vowing that 鈥榳e will win鈥�.
Gallant was expected to hold talks in Washington on Monday with defence secretary Lloyd Austin and secretary of state Antony Blinken, after declaring on his departure that 鈥榦ur ties with the United States are more important than ever鈥�.
Netanyahu has accused Israel鈥檚 biggest military supplier of slowing or freezing some arms and ammunition deliveries in recent months 鈥� a claim which US officials have strongly rejected.
The war started with Hamas鈥� October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
The militants also seized hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza although the army says 41 are dead.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,598 people, also mostly civilians, Hamas-ruled Gaza鈥檚 health ministry said.
Israel has also imposed a siege on Gaza鈥檚 2.4 million people, depriving them of most food and other essentials and driving many to the brink of starvation, the suffering alleviated only by sporadic aid shipments.
The European Union stressed that the 鈥榙elivery of any meaningful humanitarian assistance inside Gaza has become almost impossible and the very fabric of civil society is unravelling鈥�.
As the war has raged on, Israeli protesters have taken to the streets against Netanyahu and his right-wing government, demanding greater efforts to bring home the remaining hostages.
In his interview, Netanyahu, Israel鈥檚 longest serving prime minister, asserted that, if his rule ends, 鈥榓 left-wing government will establish a Palestinian state鈥�, a scenario he called a threat to 鈥榦ur existence鈥�.