TRANSCRIPT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down.
That sets the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“The intensive phase of the war with Hamas is about to end, it is about to end, that doesn’t mean that the war is about to end, but the war of the intensive phase of it is about to end in Rafah and that’s true. “
And he says he's prepared for some kind of ceasefire agreement - but not at the expense of leaving Hamas alone.
[[NETANYAHU 2]]
“No. I am not willing to stop the war and leave Hamas intact. I am prepared to make a partial deal - this is no secret - that will return to us some of the people, but we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I'm not willing to give up on that.”
Israel’s Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, agrees Israel is “approaching the point" where it can be said to have dismantled Hamas' Rafah Brigade.
“We are clearly approaching the point where we can say we have dismantled the Rafah Brigade, that it is defeated not in the sense that there are no more terrorists, but in the sense that it can no longer function as a fighting unit. Many have been killed, and you will ensure until the completion of the mission here, to eliminate as many terrorists and destroy as much infrastructure as possible in the future.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for efforts to avoid further escalation in Lebanon.
He has been meeting with Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant.
Mr Blinken underscored the importance of avoiding further escalation of the conflict and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes.
Gaza's Health Ministry says an Israeli air strike at a medical clinic in Gaza City has killed the director of Gaza's Ambulance and Emergency Department, while Israel's military says the strike killed a senior Hamas armed commander.
And 11 people are reported to have been killed in strikes on aid supply operations in Rafah; Israel denies attacking aid efforts and accuses militants of causing harm to civilians by operating among them.
Associated Press Jerusalem Bureau Chief Joe Federman says he expects Israel will soon be able to deploy more and more forces along its northern border to prepare for confrontation with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah began attacking Israel last October, almost immediately after the war in Gaza erupted, and since then there have been exchanges of fire nearly every day. But these exchanges, along with the rhetoric between these two enemies, have intensified in recent weeks, and there are now concerns on both sides of the border that a full-blown war is approaching. Hezbollah is far more powerful than Hamas, and a war between Israel and Hezbollah could be devastating to the region. Hezbollah is believed to possess a collection of rockets and missiles that are capable of striking anywhere in Israel. The Israeli military, meanwhile, says it has prepared plans for an offensive in Lebanon, and Israeli leaders have said the scenes of destruction in Gaza could soon be repeated inside Lebanon. Now, Netanyahu says he's hoping for a diplomatic solution to the standoff, but he says that Israel is prepared to go to war if that's what it takes to restore quiet along its northern front.”
Meanwhile Lebanese ministers have been giving journalists and diplomats a tour of the country’s only international airport in Beirut.
The move comes after Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed that Hezbollah has shipped an increasing number of packages containing missiles through the airport.
The newspaper cited anonymous airport workers, but Caretaker Transportation Minister Ali Hamieh says the Lebanese government will take legal action against the British newspaper, accusing it of slander and fabricating information.
“At the airport, with the article that was published in the Telegraph yesterday, we have shifted from aerial violations by Israeli jets to a psychological war through written articles. Yesterday, we proved the falseness of that article, and today we have done so again. Those articles are false. I would not be exaggerating if I said that those articles are absurd. However, in the end, because we bear responsibility for these facilities and to be transparent with the Lebanese public and the international community, we invited all ambassadors for an on-site visit to the airport in the presence of the media.”
Meanwhile, United Nations Director-General Antonio Guterres has accused Israel of spreading misinformation about the war in Gaza in an attempt to lower the organisation's credibility.
Relations between the two sides have been tense even before the war in Gaza kicked off, and have got worse since then.
Israel has made claims that the UN is being biased against it and has made claims that members of its staff have been supporting Hamas militants.
Mr Guterres says one of the false rumours he keeps hearing is that he is a supporter of the militant group.
“Member States have a vested interest in not promoting misinformation, because sooner or later the truth is discovered. I'll give you one example of misinformation about myself. I've heard the same source many times saying that I never attacked Hamas, that I never condemned Hamas, that I am a supporter of Hamas. I asked for a statistic to be made by our colleagues. I have condemned Hamas 102 times, 51 of them in formal speeches. The others in different social platforms. So, I mean, the truth in the end always wins.”
