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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that he had instructed the Israeli Defence Forces to increase military pressure on Hamas after the group rejected a proposal for a new temporary truce. Instead, Hamas is demanding an end to the war in exchange for the release of hostages, Reuters reports.
“This war is difficult, expensive and painful. But we have no choice but to fight until we win. This is a war for the very existence of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.
Context: negotiations at an impasse
Israel’s proposal concerned another stage of the humanitarian truce. In November 2023 , 38 hostages were released during a temporary pause, but the agreement was not extended further. Currently, Egyptian mediators are trying to restore the ceasefire, but the parties remain on fundamentally opposite positions.
Hamas says that the release of hostages is possible only as part of a complete end to the war. In response, Israel resumed intensive strikes on the Gaza Strip, which, according to Palestinian sources, killed at least 50 people on Saturday.
The mystery surrounding the American hostage
Diplomatic efforts are focused on the fate of Idan Alexander, a 21-year-old US and Israeli citizen who served in the IDF and was captured by militants on 7 October 2023. According to Hamas, the body of his bodyguard was found after an airstrike, and contact with the group holding Alexander was lost.
Netanyahu did not mention Alexander in his address, but US officials keep the case a priority. President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said in March that Alexander’s release was a “top priority” for Washington. Last month, direct talks were held between Hamas and US negotiator Adam Boehler.
A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Alexander’s current status, but confirmed that Hamas is fully responsible for the escalation of the conflict and the holding of hostages.
What’s next?
According to Israeli intelligence, 59 hostages are still being held in Gaza, of whom less than half are likely to be alive. In the face of a severe diplomatic impasse and mutual distrust, the chances of a new truce are minimal, and the military campaign in Gaza seems to be entering a new stage of escalation.
