Israel's Netanyahu vows to 'increase pressure' on Hamas
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to step up pressure on Hamas in war-torn Gaza, after the United States criticised the high civilian death toll in recent attacks.
Netanyahu, in remarks during a state commemorative event, defended Israel's approach during the more than nine-month war, saying "Hamas is under pressure".
"They are under increasing pressure because we are hurting them, eliminating their top commanders and thousands of terrorists.
"They are under pressure because we are remaining firm in our demands, despite all the pressure," he added, in an apparent reference to a chorus of international concern over the toll in the war since Hamas's October 7 attacks.
"This is exactly the time to increase the pressure even more, to bring home all the hostages -– the living and the dead –- and to achieve all the war objectives," Netanyahu said.
His comments come as Israel has stepped up attacks on the besieged Palestinian territory, with Gazan rescuers saying three air strikes in one hour killed more than 40 people on Tuesday.
At the weekend, more than 90 people were killed in a huge Israeli bombing raid on a safe zone, an operation Netanyahu said was targeting the Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and one of his deputies.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told the ceremony that Israel's military pressure "forces the leaders of the terrorist organisation still alive to only take care of their own survival.
"Without the capacity to command, control and lead, the Hamas organisation becomes a group of terrorist gangs without a direction or a future," Gallant said.
The Hamas October 7 attacks on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza including 42 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's military offensive has killed at least 38,713 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.