Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the phase of intense fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is about to end, but that the war would not end until the Palestinian militant group no longer controls the enclave, Reuters reports.
Once the intense fighting is over, Netanyahu said, Israel will be able to redeploy more forces to the north border with Lebanon, but primarily for "defensive purposes."
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday reported attacks on Hamas' infrastructure in southern Gaza's Rafah. In central Gaza, the Israeli army continued military operations, killing numerous militants and seizing weapons. Israel also launched airstrikes on Gaza City in the north on Sunday morning.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said its soldiers hit Israeli army targets in Gaza City, Rafah and central Gaza with mortars and rockets, killing several Israeli soldiers.
Gaza media reported fierce gunfighting between Jihad and Israeli soldiers at multiple locations in Rafah on Sunday.
In a statement issued on early Monday morning, Hamas said Netanyahu's expression clearly exposes his objection to a ceasefire resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council and also a peace deal proposed by the United States.
Hamas called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel, stop its war against the Palestinian people. Meanwhile, it urged the U.S. government to stop supporting genocide wars in Gaza and against the Palestinian people.
