Netanyahu: Israeli communities bordering Gaza will be rehabilitated

2024-01-16 17:21:14, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli officials, although they continue to reject a ceasefire without the release of the hostages, have announced that the intensive military offensive in the northern part of Gaza has ended and that the intensity of military operations in the southern part will soon decrease. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced that Israeli neighborhoods bordering Gaza will be rebuilt to return tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated after the October 7 Hamas attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his country is "determined to rehabilitate communities" in the area around the Gaza Strip.

"For this purpose, we must first of all achieve victory over Hamas", said Prime Minister Netanyahu during a meeting with the heads of the communities of this area.

Israel has evacuated tens of thousands of people from communities in the south after Hamas militants carried out the October 7 terror attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 240 hostages.

Despite mounting international pressure, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ruled out a ceasefire on Monday, saying Hamas would not agree to release the hostages it is holding without military pressure.

"We have made it clear that the intensive phase of the ground operation will last about three months. In northern Gaza, this phase has ended. In the south we will finish it soon and in both areas the moment will come to move to the next phase", says Minister Gallant.

However, intense fighting has continued with explosions heard on Tuesday, more than 100 days since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

The Israeli army continues to publish daily footage of its forces and announced that they have discovered more than 100 points from which Hamas fires rockets at Israel.

Three months later, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas, although the figures given by the militant group's authorities do not distinguish between civilians and Islamist fighters killed.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying it was necessary to urgently send aid to the Palestinians, release hostages held by Hamas and stop the war from spreading across the Middle East. .

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is very serious. No one and no country is safe," said Mr. Guterres.

Displaced Palestinians, in addition to the need for more food, also have a critical need to recharge their phone batteries.

In wartime Gaza, a working telephone helps to find out if family members are alive after bombing, helps to find food and water.

Most of the Palestinian population has been displaced and severe shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine have resulted in a humanitarian disaster, according to the United Nations./ VOA