Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “intense phase” of fighting in Rafah, southern Gaza, was almost over, but that did not mean the war was coming to an end.
He said the war would continue until Hamas was completely removed from power.
He added that the Israeli army would soon be able to redeploy its troops to the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have intensified.
Mr Netanyahu also once again rejected the idea that the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza in place of Hamas.
“Ultimately, you will need to do two things: you will need the military demilitarization underway by the Israel Defense Forces and you will need to establish a civilian administration. I hope that with the support and management of some countries in the region, I think this is the right way to move forward,” he said in an interview on Israeli television.
“I’ll tell you what I’m not prepared to do. I’m not prepared to establish a Palestinian state there, I’m not prepared to hand it over to the Palestinian Authority. I’m not prepared to do that. »
Residents of Rafah said there had been more clashes in the town, while Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City reportedly killed the director of emergency services at the Hamas-run health ministry.
An aid distribution center was also hit: the Israeli army said it was used by Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant begins a visit to Washington to discuss the war in Gaza and escalating tensions with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the Palestinian armed group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed. were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
Since then, more than 37,551 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but it reportedly identified 14,680 children, women and elderly people among the dead at the end of April.
