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Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has stated that the war in Gaza will continue until the hostages held by Hamas are returned and the Palestinian faction is disarmed.
“The war will not be over until the all the hostages are back and until Hamas is disarmed. This is something very clear. We are serious about the objectives of the war,” Mr Saar said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.
He said there is an international consensus that Hamas cannot rule Gaza any more, but “Hamas is trying to play tricks”.
“We will not allow another October 7 attack,” he said, referring to the 2023 strike that triggered the war, in which Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel. They killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
Gaza's health ministry said on Wednesday that at least 1,482 Palestinians have been since killed Israel resumed intense strikes on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
The ceasefire allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the return of the remains of eight others in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
Asked about Egypt's reconstruction plan and US President Donald Trump's scheme to displace the Palestinians from Gaza, Mr Saar said people could leave by their own free will.
“I am telling you, we know that a lot of people want to immigrate … so if there are people who are willing to immigrate and we have countries who agree to accept them … it is moral, it is human and it is practical,” he stated.
He said that afterwards, there would be “a transitional period” with a board of international trustees including moderate Arab countries, and below them local Palestinians, to manage the enclave.
“We are not looking to control the civil life of the people of Gaza. Our sole interest in the Gaza Strip is our security,” Mr Saar said, blaming Hamas for starting the war and for continuing it by “refusing to free 59 hostages and rejecting demilitarisation”.
“There is no future for Gaza with Hamas in power,” said the minister.
On Lebanon, Mr Saar said Israel is seeking peace. “I think we do not have any real conflict with the state of Lebanon … the problem is Hezbollah, which is an Iranian representative that took over Lebanon.”
He added: “If we reach … the moment when the Lebanon army and government are stronger than Hezbollah, I think we will have new prospects.”
Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon since a November 27 ceasefire that followed more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of total war. Hezbollah has been left severely weakened in the latest conflict with Israel.