Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Dec 16, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

JERUSALEM / BEIRUT- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday evening that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will be responsible for security in the Gaza Strip after the conflict with Hamas is over.

Netanyahu made the remarks at a press conference in Tel Aviv in response to a question about his plan for Gaza when the conflict comes to an end.

"There will be demilitarization. The IDF will be responsible for security in the Gaza Strip because there is no other factor that will ensure the fight against terrorism, and I can tell you that there will be a civil governance that does not educate its children to destroy Israel," he stressed.

A Hezbollah fighter was killed on Saturday during confrontations with the Israeli army in Lebanon's border areas, the Lebanese militant group said in a statement

The Israeli prime minister also noted at the press conference that once Hamas is destroyed, his country will focus on its northern region, where almost 100,000 Israelis are currently displaced from their homes.

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He added that there would be a diplomatic situation on the northern border or a different way to solve the situation.

There was also an inquiry about whether Netanyahu passed up an opportunity to send the head of Israel's Mossad to talks in Qatar on a new hostage deal a few days ago. In response, the prime minister said he won't "make the mistake of telling Israel's enemies about its considerations" and Israel is negotiating with the enemy via "blood, fire and pillars of smoke."

Meanwhile, a Hezbollah fighter was killed on Saturday during confrontations with the Israeli army in Lebanon's border areas, the Lebanese militant group said in a statement.

Hezbollah said that the group mourned one of its members, without providing further details.

The militant group said its fighters attacked several Israeli targets on Saturday, resulting in casualties. These targets included Israeli soldiers in the Ramim forest, as well as the settlements of Al-Manara and Al-Motella, and an infantry force near the Israeli military site of Risha.

A man inspects the rubble of a house destroyed in reported Israeli bombardment on Dec 13 in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on Dec 16, 2023, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (PHOTO / AFP)

According to an anonymous Lebanese military source, the Israeli forces on Saturday carried out a series of air and artillery attacks on border villages in southern Lebanon, destroying four houses and damaging another 25.

From Oct 8 to Dec 14, Hezbollah carried out 509 military operations against 58 Israeli positions and gatherings along the Lebanon-Israel borders, according to the militant group.

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The Lebanon-Israel border witnessed increased tension since Oct 8 after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, prompting the Israeli response by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 155 on the Lebanese side, including 108 Hezbollah members, a Lebanese army soldier, one member of the Amal Movement, 16 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and 29 civilians, including three journalists, according to Lebanese security sources.

Ceasefire urged

Separately, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), reiterated his call on Friday for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Tedros made the appeal at an annual press conference organized by the Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations in Geneva.

Israeli soldiers prepare munitions near a self-propelled artillery howitzer in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 16, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

The director-general hailed as "significant" the resolution adopted at the special session of the WHO Executive Board on the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, which called for immediate, sustained and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief in Gaza, including medical personnel.

The resolution also called on Tedros to continue reporting on the public health implications of the crisis, to assess the mental health impacts of the crisis, to increase technical and material assistance, and to strengthen the health agency's work with partners.

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However, these tasks are almost impossible in the current circumstances, Tedros said. "The only real remedy is an immediate ceasefire," he said.

This year, there were over 1,200 documented attacks on health workers, patients, hospitals, clinics, and ambulances, across 19 countries, resulting in nearly 700 deaths and over 1,100 injuries, according to the head of WHO.

Tedros denounced attacks on health as a violation of international humanitarian law, saying health must never be a target.

More than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed amid the ongoing Gaza conflict since Oct 7, with 70 percent of them women and children, the health ministry in Gaza said on Thursday.