Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a statement on Sunday in which he recounted his conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump and detailed the challenges facing Israel.

"I spoke again yesterday with my friend, US President-elect Donald Trump. It was a very friendly conversation, very warm, and very important. We spoke about the need to complete Israel's victory and we spoke a lot about our efforts to free the hostages. We are constantly continuing to work tirelessly to bring the hostages home, both the living and the deceased. And I add, the less we talk about it the better, and that way, with G-d's help, we will also win," Netanyahu stated.

Regarding the security situation on Israel's various borders, Netanyahu stated: "A year ago I said something simple: We will change the Middle East, and we are indeed changing it. Syria is not the same Syria, Lebanon is not the same Lebanon, Gaza is not the same Gaza, and the head of the axis - Iran - is not the same Iran. It also felt the might of our arms.

"We are working forcefully and thoughtfully to achieve security against all countries in the region and to bring stability and security to all our borders. This doesn't mean that there aren't challenges ahead, there certainly are. Both against Iran, its bleeding proxies, and all other potential threats, since the reality is dynamic, it changes quickly."

He mentioned Israel's activities in Syria. "We have no interest in a confrontation with Syria. We will decide Israel's policies on Syria based on the reality on the ground. I remind you that for decades Syria was an actively hostile state to Israel. It attacked us again and again, it allowed others to attack us from its territory, and it allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah from its territory.

"To make sure that what was won't be again, we conducted a series of strong actions in recent days. Together with Defense Minister Katz, I instructed the IDF to eliminate the potential threats from Syria and to prevent terrorist entities from taking control near our borders. Within a few days, we destroyed the capabilities that the Assad regime built over decades. We did this to make sure that dangerous weapons wouldn't be pointed at us again from Syrian soil. We also struck the weapon supply lines from Syria to Hezbollah. Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said this yesterday outright: 'Hezbollah lost its military supply line through Syria.' This of course is additional evidence of our strong blow to the Iranian axis as a whole."

Netanyahu emphasized that the defense establishment has not been overtaken with euphoria because of the strategic changes. "I wish to clarify and warn: we must prevent the re-arming of Hezbollah. This is Israel's ongoing test, we must succeed. I tell Hezbollah and Iran unequivocally: to prevent you from harming us, we will continue to act against you as much as needed, on every front and at all times."