Israel’s prime minister said Sunday that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza was coming to an end, while making clear that an end to the war against the group was not in sight. Consequence: more troops could be deployed on the border with Lebanon.
A phase of Israeli military operations in Gaza is closing, but the end of the war is not in sight. This is, in essence, the observation made by the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday. During an interview with the Israeli channel Channel 14, Benjamin Netanyahu also indicated that this change in phase of operations in Gaza would make it possible to position more troops north, on the border with Lebanon. “We will have the opportunity to transfer some of our forces to the north, and we will do so“, did he declare.
Iran-backed Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after the October 7 attack by Hamas, which sparked the Gaza war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost every day, but fighting has intensified in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown war.
The Israeli army has been operating in the border town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, since the beginning of May. It claims to have inflicted heavy damage on Hamas in Rafah, which it considers Hamas’s last stronghold after a brutal war lasting nearly nine months. However, he indicated that Israel should continue its strikes aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, caused a humanitarian crisis and triggered prosecutions for war crimes and genocide before the world’s highest courts in The Hague.
Growing tensions between Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden
On Sunday, Israel’s chief executive reiterated his assertion that arms shipments from the United States, Israel’s closest ally, have seen a “spectacular fall“, thus hindering the war effort.
If the American president Joe Biden has delayed the delivery of certain large-caliber bombs since May, fearing heavy civilian losses,his administration defended itself last week against Netanyahu’s accusations that other deliveries had also been affected.
Although the United States and other mediators are pushing for a ceasefire plan, Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out ending the war until Israel releases all hostages held by Hamas and until he will not have destroyed the military and administrative capabilities of Hamas.
The prime minister spoke while his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, was in Washington to speak with US officials about the war and tensions with Lebanon. Next month, Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to address Congress in a speech that is already dividing Washington along partisan lines. Some Democrats, angered by the public spat between Netanyahu and Biden, said they would not attend.
