Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said he had directed the military to double pressure on Hamas after the Palestinian militant group this week rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce, instead demanding a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of hostages.
Netanyahu, in a late-night televised address, said that while war came with a heavy price, Israel had no choice but to continue fighting for their very existence, until victory is achieved.
DAILY POST reports that Egyptian mediators have been working to restore the ceasefire, which Israel abandoned last month after seeking to extend a temporary truce that had seen 38 hostages released.
Hamas has said it would only free the remaining hostages under a deal that ends the war.
The Palestinian militant group earlier on Saturday said that it had recovered the body of a guard killed in an Israeli air strike this week and who was holding Edan Alexander, an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last American citizen held alive in Gaza.
DAILY POST reports that Hamas, whose militants carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war,
Meanwhile, Netanyahu did not mention Alexander in his remarks.
Israel has pounded Gaza with air strikes since the ceasefire collapsed with the Palestinian health authorities saying that no fewer than 50 Palestinians had been killed in strikes on Saturday.
In March, US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said that releasing Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native, who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the October 7, 2023 attacks, was a top priority.
Trump added that Alexander's release was at the centre of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack.
Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza, fewer than half of them are believed to be still alive.
