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00:00As anti-government protests continue unabated across the country,
00:04Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first interview to an Israeli network since the October 7 attacks,
00:10answered questions from journalists on local Channel 14.
00:13He said after nine months of war in Gaza,
00:16the so-called intense phase of fighting against Hamas was about to end.
00:21After the end of the intense phase,
00:24we will have the opportunity to move some of the forces north, and we will.
00:29First and foremost for defensive purposes, but also to bring our evacuated residents home.
00:34If we can, we'll do it diplomatically. If not, we'll do it another way.
00:39Netanyahu wants to ease the pressure on Gaza
00:42to concentrate his forces on the northern front with Lebanon.
00:46Iranian-backed Hezbollah began striking Israel
00:49almost immediately after the Hamas attack on October 7.
00:52Since then, Israel and the Shiite armed group have exchanged daily fire,
00:56and tensions have risen again in recent days.
00:59Last week, the IDF announced that it had validated operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon,
01:04raising fears of a full-scale war.
01:07Asked about the post-war situation in Gaza,
01:10where fighting has already claimed more than 37,000 lives, according to Hamas,
01:14Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to maintain a strong Israeli presence.
01:19There are two things.
01:22You will need the ongoing demilitarization by the IDF,
01:25and you will need to establish a civilian administration
01:28with the support and management of certain countries in the region.
01:31I think this is the right way forward, but I'll tell you what I'm not ready to do.
01:35I'm not ready to establish a Palestinian state there.
01:39While Netanyahu said he was open to a partial agreement on the hostage issue,
01:43he reaffirmed his primary objective, the complete destruction of Hamas in Gaza.