Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Gaza-Egypt border zone should be under Israeli control.
“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,” he told a press conference.
In addition, Netanyahu also claimed that Israel remains steadfast in its goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza and demilitarising the territory to ensure further security, as well as returning all captured Israelis.
The war is at its height. We are fighting on all of the fronts. Achieving victory will require time. As the chief of staff has said, the war will continue for many more months.
Netanyahu also warned that in the event of continued attacks by Hezbollah or Iran, Israel would immediately retaliate: “If Hezbollah expands the warfare, it will suffer blows that it has not dreamed of – and so too Iran.”
Israel’s ongoing bombardment and ground offensive on Gaza since 7 October has killed at least 21,672 people, most of them women and children, and displaced nearly the entire 2.3 million population of the besieged territory.
