Israeli PM tells negotiators to ‘continue the steps’ for release of Gaza hostages

"The Prime Minister issued an instruction for the continuation of the steps to advance the release of our hostages," the office said on Wednesday in a statement.

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israeli negotiators to “continue the steps” for the release of hostages still held in Gaza, his office said, as efforts to revive the ceasefire appeared to be stalled.

“The Prime Minister issued an instruction for the continuation of the steps to advance the release of our hostages,” the office said on Wednesday in a statement.

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The statement followed an assessment meeting on the 59 hostages who are still being held in Gaza with the negotiating team and the heads of the security establishment, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The Prime Minister issued directives for the continuation of the steps to advance the release of our hostages,” his office said in a statement, adding that he held an assessment on the issue with the negotiating team and the heads of the security establishment.

Israeli forces have taken over more than half of Gaza in a renewed campaign to pressure Hamas militants to release hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire last month.

Israel has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group last year, and it seized a buffer zone in southern Syria after rebels overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad in December.

“Unlike in the past, the (Israeli military) is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

The military “will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and (Israeli) communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza as in Lebanon and Syria”.

The United Nations said an estimated 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the end of the ceasefire, triggering what it has described as the most severe humanitarian crisis the territory has faced since the war started after the Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks.

On Monday, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV reported that Egyptian and Qatari negotiators have presented to Hamas a new deal proposal that includes the release of about 10 hostages and a temporary truce. Hamas said in a statement that it was studying the proposal. The Israeli military said that it had “achieved full operational control over several key areas and routes throughout the Gaza Strip”.

“Nearly 30 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory is now designated as an Operational Security Perimeter.” It added that Israeli air strikes had hit “nearly 1,200 terror targets” and that “more than 100 targeted eliminations have been carried out” since March 18. Katz said this month that the military was leaving Gaza “smaller and more isolated”.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said that military pressure was the only way to force Hamas to release the 58 hostages still held in Gaza.