Netanyahu discussed with Trump the need to follow through on Israel's victory

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, December 14, about developments in Syria and the release of Israeli hostages.

"It was a very warm, friendly and important conversation. We discussed the need to achieve an Israeli victory, and we also talked at length about our efforts to free the hostages," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the press service.

He added that the work to return hostages from the Gaza Strip is ongoing. Netanyahu recalled that a year ago he promised to change the Middle East, noting that Israel is keeping its promise.

"Syria is no longer the same Syria, Lebanon is no longer the same Lebanon, Gaza is no longer the same Gaza, and the head of the Axis - Iran - is also no longer the same Iran, and it has felt the force of our strike <...> [Israel] is acting decisively and deliberately to ensure security in the face of all the states in the region, and stability and security at all our borders," he concluded.

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The old rules don't work anymore

Earlier on Dec. 11, the U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal, citing mediators, reported that the Palestinian Hamas movement had for the first time allowed a deal that would allow Israel to temporarily remain in the Gaza Strip after the cessation of hostilities. It was specified that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will travel to Israel, Egypt and Qatar this week to push for the deal.

Prior to that, on December 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that after the change of power in Syria, the radical Palestinian movement Hamas was in "final isolation," which creates new opportunities for an agreement on Gaza. On November 28, Dmitry Gendelman, advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, told Izvestia that Israel has not changed its position on Hamas after the truce in Lebanon.

The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah came after the events of September 17 and 18, when thousands of people, including employees of the movement, were injured when pagers and other communication devices exploded in Lebanon. The country blamed Tel Aviv for what happened. Since then, Israel has continued to eliminate the leadership of the Shiite movement and strike Lebanese territory.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.