Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Saturday that the border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israel’s control, as he predicted the war in the Palestinian enclave and on other regional fronts would last many more months.
Netanyahu spoke at a news conference as Israel entered the 13th week of its war against Hamas, which has fueled bloodshed in the occupied West Bank and sparked attacks by Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
“The Philadelphi Corridor – or to put it more correctly, the southern stoppage point (of Gaza) – must be in our hands. It must be shut. Any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarisation that we seek”, the Israeli Prime Minister stated.
Israel has stated that it seeks to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, as well as demilitarise and deradicalize the region to avoid a repeat of the Oct. 7 cross-border killing and kidnapping spree by the Palestinian militant group that ignited the war.
“The war is at its height. We are fighting on all of the fronts. Achieving victory will require time. As the (IDF) chief of staff has said, the war will continue for many more months”, the Israeli Prime Minister continued.
Over the near-daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border, the Israeli Prime Minister added a rare threat to attack Iran directly.
“If Hezbollah expands the warfare, it will suffer blows that it has not dreamed of – and so too Iran”, the Israeli Prime minister added without elaborating.
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