Head of the Israeli National Security Council: The elimination of Hamas will take a long time and we are looking for a local alternative to it in Gaza
The head of Israel’s National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, said Tuesday that the government is committed to returning the hostages from Gaza as soon as possible.
Hanegbi said in a speech that the return of hostages from Gaza is no more important than the rest of the goals of the war, stressing that the elimination of Hamas will take a long time.
He added, “We’re discussing with the Americans options for the next day in Gaza,” adding, “We want a local alternative to Hamas in Gaza that is moderate and takes over the administration of the Strip with Arab and international support”.
In Lebanon, Hanegbi stressed that Israel will try in the coming weeks to resolve the conflict with Lebanon, preferably through diplomacy, noting that there is a consensus in Israeli society on changing the reality near the border with Lebanon.
The head of Israel’s National Security Council confirmed that the US envoy is optimistic and believes that the third phase of the fighting in Gaza will push Hezbollah to reduce the declared state of support.
Western media reported on Monday that the United States has certain doubts about the possibility of providing assistance to Israel and defending its territory in the event of a confrontation with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The Associated Press quoted the remarks of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US armed forces, Charles Brown, who considered that his country won’t be able to help Israel defend its territory in the event of a large-scale war with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Brown stressed that in the event of a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran would provide large-scale support to Lebanese Hezbollah, which would provoke a larger conflict that could threaten US forces in the region.
Mutual targeting in southern Lebanon between Hezbollah on the one hand and the Israeli army on the other has been ongoing for more than 8 months, and operations have been expanding on a daily basis along the southern border from Ras Naqoura to the Shebaa farms, and have led to a lot of damage to infrastructure, land and crops, and displaced nearly 90,000 Lebanese citizens from border villages to safer areas.
The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has been going on for more than 9 months, destroying entire neighborhoods, displacing 1.7 out of 2.4 million people, and triggering a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
