KUALA LUMPUR – Israel plans to “wind down” its war on Gaza and shift focus to its northern border with Lebanon, its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview.
Winding down plans in Gaza, however, will not mean an end to the war but to its “current stage in Rafah”, the media quoted him saying in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, his first one-on-one interview with local media since the October 7 war began.
“We will continue mowing the lawn,” Netanyahu said of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, reiterating his intention to eliminate Hamas.
The military shift to its northern border with Lebanon will be for “protection purposes” and to facilitate the return of residents evacuated after Hezbollah began launching strikes from southern Lebanon into Israel since October 7.
According to the Times of Israel, around 60,000 civilians from the north remain displaced.
Israel has launched airstrikes into southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah command centres, while the Iran-backed militant group has sent rockets and explosive drones across the border.
Israel launched its war in Gaza following the Hamas attacks of October 7, when militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. Since then, Israeli defence forces have killed more than 37,000 people in Gaza, according to the occupied territory’s Health Ministry. – June 24, 2024