Netanyahu: Gaza must be demilitarized and rebuilt

The Gaza Strip must be demilitarized, cleared of radical groups and rebuilt. About it stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with Fox News.

“We want to see Gaza demilitarized, cleared of radical elements and rebuilt,” he said.

The Israeli prime minister stressed that the Palestinian group Hamas will be destroyed “for the sake of civilization, for the sake of Palestinians and Israelis.” Netanyahu noted that Israel does not seek to occupy or rule Gaza.

At the same time, the country’s authorities must be confident that such an attack on Israel will not happen again, he added. In this regard, Israel will need “a reliable force that, if necessary, will enter Gaza and eliminate the killers” to prevent the resurgence of Hamas.

Netanyahu has previously said that Israel could take “responsibility for security” in the Gaza Strip “for an indefinite period” to prevent the group’s militants from maintaining or returning to power. He also notedthat Israel’s response to the Hamas attack will change the Middle East. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated that a “new security reality” would be established in Gaza.

At the end of October, the Netanyahu administration admitted that military intelligence had developed a plan to evict Gazans to Egypt and other states, establishing a “sanitary zone” that would prevent returns. At the same time, they clarified that the plan was one of the options. Egypt and other Arab countries have protested against any attempts to evict Gazans.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began carrying out strikes in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked the southern parts of the country on October 7. As a result of the Israeli attack, about 1,400 people were killed, and more than 200 were taken hostage by militants. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said more than 10,800 people have been killed due to Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.