The Israeli prime minister reiterated that he will not accept any agreement that calls for an end to the eight-month war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that he is open to a “partial” deal that would facilitate the return of some, but not all, captives still in Gaza.
He reiterated, however, that he would not accept any deal that would stipulate an end to Israel's war on Gaza, despite earlier US claims that an Israeli proposal would be a way to end the offensive.
“The goal is to return those kidnapped and uproot the Hamas regime in Gaza,” he said Sunday in an interview with Israeli media outlet Channel 14.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have consistently demonstrated against Netanyahu and his government, demanding early elections and a deal to return captives.
Last month, US President Joe Biden announced a proposal for a ceasefire, which would see a six-week pause in fighting as well as the release of some Israeli captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. These exchanges would then allow negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
While US officials have insisted that Israel authored the proposal, several Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is eliminated and have refused to fully endorse it publicly.
Netanyahu also told Channel 14 that Israel's “intense” military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah was almost over.
“The intense phase of the fight against Hamas is about to end,” he said. “It doesn't 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 war in Gaza began, once again rejected the idea that the occupied Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, would govern 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 supplies and, later, civil affairs in the Strip,” he said.
“In the end, there are two things that must happen: we need continued demilitarization by the [Israeli military] and the establishment of a civil administration.”
The Gaza Strip has been mired in more than eight months of war since a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed 1,139 people, and dozens of them remain captive in Gaza.
Since then, Israel's military offensive against Gaza has killed at least 37,598 people, according to the Palestinian territory's Health Ministry.
Troops to advance towards Lebanon
Netanyahu said troops would soon be deployed to the northern border with Lebanon, but for “defensive purposes.”
“Once the intense phase is over, we will have the possibility of moving part of the forces to the north. And we will do this. First of all for defensive purposes. And secondly, bring our [evacuated] residents home,” Netanyahu told Channel 14.
“If we can, we will do it diplomatically. If not, 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, where there have been almost daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters since the war in Gaza began.
