Tel Aviv, 24 June 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he is open to accepting a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war, but not before his government achieves its war objectives.

"It is Hamas which opposes a deal, not Israel," Netanyahu's office said on social media platform X. "Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that we will not leave Gaza until we return all 120 of our hostages, living and deceased."

Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14 on Sunday that the intense fighting against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would soon come to an end. However, he reiterated that the war would only end when Hamas no longer controlled the Gaza Strip.

Israel's army launched the operation in Rafah, which lies on the border with Egypt, at the beginning of May. The declared aim was to dismantle the last Hamas combat units in the territory.

In mid-June, the Israeli military said that some 60-70% of the city's territory was under the "operational control" of its troops, adding that it expects to complete the operation within a few weeks.

Netanyahu said in the Sunday interview that, once the phase of intense fighting is over, it will be possible to redeploy some of the forces to the north, where Israel shares a border with Lebanon.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon.

Israel wants to use military and diplomatic pressure to ensure that Hezbollah retreats behind the Litani River, 30 kilometres from the border - as stipulated in a UN resolution on the 2006 conflict.

However, Israel is also prepared to launch a larger military operation if necessary, Israeli Defence Minister Joav Gallant has warned.

On Sunday, before leaving for a visit to the United States, Gallant said that his country was "prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon and in additional areas."

There is concern that an open war between Israel and Lebanon could lead to a wider regional conflict, potentially drawing in the US, Israel's key ally.

Photo: EPA