Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday that Israel should control the border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. He also forecasted that the war in the Palestinian enclave and other regional fronts would continue for several more months.
“The Philadelphi Corridor – or to put it more correctly, the southern stoppage point (of Gaza) – must be in our hands. It must be shut. It is clear that any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarisation that we seek,” Netanyahu said in a news conference.
“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,” he added.
Israel has expressed its intention to eliminate Hamas in Gaza and to demilitarise and deradicalize the region, claiming to avoid a recurrence of the cross-border killing and abduction rampage by the Palestinian militant group on October 7, which ignited the war.
Netanyahu also issued an uncommon threat to directly attack Iran due to the frequent cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon. He stated, “If Hezbollah escalates the conflict, it will experience unimaginable repercussions, and the same applies to Iran,” without providing further details.
