Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday that the ground operation launched by Israeli forces in Gaza represents the second phase of the war against Hamas, which will be long and difficult. He added in a press conference that all possible efforts will be made to rescue over 200 hostages held by Hamas.
In this context, Netanyahu confirmed during a meeting with the families of Israeli hostages that "pressure on Hamas is key, and the more intense it is, the higher the chances of releasing the hostages." He noted, according to Israeli army radio, that "there is an effort to release the hostages; I am not sure that people understand the extent of this, including the instructions to the forces in the field and on a very broad scale—both globally and locally."
