Netanyahu said in a video message that he had a “very friendly, very warm and very important conversation” on Saturday (local time) and spoke about the need for Israel to “complete its victory”.
Leaders said the remaining hostages in Gaza also needed to be returned home.
Hamas launched a major terror attack in Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. About 100 of them are believed to still be held captive in Gaza.
Israel launched a heavy counter-offensive in an operation targeting Hamas units in Gaza that killed 45,000 Palestinians.
“I discussed all of this again last night with my friend, US President-elect Donald Trump,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“It was a very friendly, very warm and very important conversation. We talked about the need to complete the victory of Israel, and we also talked about the efforts we are making to free our hostages,” he was quoted as saying by CNN.
Netanyahu said Israel “continues to work tirelessly to return home our hostages, both alive and dead. And I will add, the less we talk about it, the better and with God’s help we will succeed.”
On Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister took to social media platform X and firmly affirmed that they will “change” the Middle East.
“I said we would change the Middle East and it is happening. Syria is not the same Syria. Lebanon is not the same Lebanon. Gaza is not the same Gaza. Iran is not the same Iran,” Netanyahu said in the post. In X.
“We are committed to preventing Hezbollah from rearming,” he said. “This is a constant test for Israel, we must meet it – and we will meet it. I say to Hezbollah and Iran in no uncertain terms – to prevent you from harming us, we will continue to act against you as long as necessary, in every area and at all times. ,” according to The Times of Israel.
Since rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew the two-decade-long regime of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes across Syria and a ground offensive extending into the occupied Golan. Heights in the already demilitarized buffer zone, as reported by the Washington Post.
Israeli forces quickly took control of abandoned military positions and airstrikes destroyed most of Syria’s military capabilities.
Netanyahu reiterated that the recent airstrikes against Syrian military sites were carried out to ensure that the weapons would not be used against Israel in the future. According to the Times of Israel, Israel has also struck arms supply routes to Hezbollah.
“We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” Netanyahu said. “We will determine Israel’s policy toward Syria according to the emerging reality on the ground.”
Netanyahu also warned that Israel had “no intention of interfering” in Syria’s internal affairs, but would take “necessary” steps if the current regime allowed Iran to re-establish itself in Syria or transfer arms to Hezbollah.