Netanyahu "peace agreement with Hamas and Hezbollah after the end of the war"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to sign a peace deal with Arab countries after the war against Palestinian militant Hamas and Lebanese militant Hezbollah ends.

"After the war against Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and northern Israel, we have other more important goals," Netanyahu said in a speech to parliament on the 28th local time.

"I hope to continue the process of signing the historic Abraham Accords, which I led a few years ago, to achieve peace with more Arab countries," he said.

"These countries and others are clearly seeing us strike Iran, the axis of evil that attacks us," Netanyahu said, adding: "They, like us, long for a stable, secure and prosperous Middle East."

The Abraham Accords were established by Israel in September 2020 under U.S.-mediated mediation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

Israel sought to establish diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, the Sunni Muslim-majority country, but it fell through when the Gaza war broke out.

Saudi Arabia says it will not recognize Israel without the construction of a Palestinian state.