Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday to bring back all hostages, “living and dead”, as Gaza rescuers said Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in the war-battered Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu’s remarks came amid confusion about the fate of a proposed 70-day ceasefire that was to see the release of 10 Israeli hostages alongside more Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has in recent weeks expanded its offensive in the Gaza Strip, drawing international condemnation as aid trickles in following a monthslong blockade that has caused severe food and medical shortages.
“If we don’t achieve it today, we will achieve it tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. We are not giving up,” Netanyahu said of freeing the captives.
“We intend to bring them all back, the living and the dead,” he added without mentioning a possible truce.
Militants took 251 hostages during the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel which triggered the war, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.বিস্তারিত