Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to take control of Gaza’s border with Egypt, expanding Israel’s stated goals in the war to neutralize Hamas.

“The war is now at its peak,” Netanyahu told the media on Saturday.

He said the Philadelphia Corridor buffer zone, which runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt, should be in Israeli hands.

“It should be closed. It is clear that any other agreement will not ensure the demilitarization we seek,” Netanyahu added.

He gave no details, but the Israeli move would de facto reverse its 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, putting the enclave under sole Israeli control after years of Hamas rule.

Netanyahu’s statements about the buffer zone came as Israeli military forces continued their offensive, which the prime minister said would continue for “many more months.”

Local residents and medics said Saturday’s fighting was concentrated in Al-Bureij, Nuseirat, Magha and Khan Younis in central and southern Gaza.

Hamas media reported on Saturday that Abdel-Fattah Maali, a senior member of the group’s armed wing, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza.