Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the phase of intense fighting in the Gaza Strip was coming to an end but that the war would not end until Hamas no longer controls the Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu said that even a ceasefire with Hamas would not bring the war to an end, while he did not give a time frame for the end of the phase of intense fighting. He only said that the end of this phase would free up troops to send to Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where tensions continue to flare with Hezbollah.
"I am not willing to end the war and leave Hamas as it is," Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14.
The Israeli PM also said there would be an indefinite Israeli military occupation of the Strip, ruling out the Palestinian Authority assuming control of the territory.
Netanyahu's comments come as Israeli tanks have advanced to the edge of the tent camp in al-Mawasi near the southern city of Rafah, days after an Israeli strike killed at least 25 people in the area previously designated a "humanitarian safe zone" by Tel Aviv.
