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On Sunday, the Israeli PM said that the “intense” fight against Hamas terrorists in Rafah is coming to an end. The PM clarified that the concluding fight in Rafah doesn’t mean the end of the war against Hamas. Israel’s war with Hamas has been going on since October last year.
The war started when Hamas, a terrorist group, invaded Israel on October 7 and massacred 1,200 people, and took around 250 hostages. As a result, the war started in the Middle East and has been going around for nine months. Because of the war, both sides have suffered.
Here’s What The Israeli PM Said
In an interview with the Channel 14 network, Israel’s PM said, “The intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end.” He also added, “It doesn’t mean that the war is about to end, but the war in intense phase is about to end in Rafah.” The Israel Defence Force (IDF), and other Israeli officials have identified Rafah as the last stronghold of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In early May, the Israeli troops entered the Rafah located on the border with Egypt. The Israeli PM said in the interview, “After the end of the intense phase in the Gaza strip, Israel would “redeploy some forces to the north… primarily for defensive purposes.” Hezbollah from Lebanon is a threat in the north of Israel. Hezbollah has been firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas.
The link between the two conflicts – between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Israel and Hezbollah around the Israel-Lebanon border – has complicated the situation of the war on many fronts. This was Benjamin Netanyahu’s first interview with Israeli media after the start of the war with Hamas.
Israel Can Now Focus On The North
As the fighting in Rafah comes to an end, Israel can focus on the threat from Hezbollah. Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah is advanced in weapons. The most heavily armed terrorist group in the world is Hezbollah. According to reports, they have 150,000 rockets and missiles.
Israel has withdrawn some of their troops from the Gaza Strip after defeating Hamas in all areas except Rafah. The northern front has been brewing for months. Dozens of countries have also designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, similar to Hamas.
Hezbollah won’t stop attacking Israel. Hezbollah says their attacks will stop only when the war in Gaza ends. While Israel has said Hezbollah must withdraw from the Lebanese border as the UN Security Council resolution says.
In the past weeks, Hezbollah has increased its attacks on Israel. As a result, Israel had to retaliate. In the confrontation with Israel, Hezbollah has suffered huge losses.