Netanyahu and Trump discuss Israel's plans for Gaza offensive

Netanyahu's office said late Sunday the prime minister had spoken with US President Donald Trump about "Israel's plans to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza."

Earlier the same day, the Israeli prime minister stated that the new offensive in the Gaza Strip is aimed at destroying the two remaining Hamas strongholds, calling it the only option since the group refuses to lay down arms.

Hamas, for its part, has said it will not disarm until an independent Palestinian state is established.

Israel has no plans to occupy Gaza

In recent days, Israel approved a plan to seize Gaza City. However, Netanyahu clarified that the goal is not occupation.

Netanyahu said his goal was not to occupy Gaza. "We want a security belt right next to our border, but we don't want to stay in Gaza. That's not our purpose. The timeline that we set for the action is fairly quickly. We want, first of all, to enable safe zones to be established so the civilian population of Gaza City can move out."

The prime minister also shared his vision for the post-war Gaza Strip, noting that the territory would be demilitarized and Israel would be responsible for security.