Jerusalem | Tel Aviv | Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday (Monday AEST) that the end of the “intense phase” of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza was “very close”, and that Israel would soon redeploy forces to its northern border, where it has been trading near-daily fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, the Israeli prime minister said the end of this phase of fighting in the enclave would not spell the end of the war. He insisted that Israel would continue until it had destroyed Hamas and freed the roughly 120 hostages the militant group still holds.

Financial Times