Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Tuesday that Hamas will face intensified military action unless it releases all remaining hostages.
“The murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify,” Katz stated in remarks released by his office.
The statement came during a high-level security assessment held at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting was attended by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior security officials.
Overnight Monday, the IDF carried out “extensive” airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, the military announced early on Tuesday. The IDF said on Tuesday afternoon that the attacks on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror targets were continuing throughout the Gaza Strip.
“Among the targets hit in recent hours are terrorist squads, launch positions, weapons and additional military infrastructure used by the terror organizations to plan and carry out attacks, posing a threat to IDF forces and Israeli civilians,” the military stated.
“These attacks follow Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all the proposals it has received from U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and other mediators,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
The IDF emphasized that it is targeting Hamas positions throughout Gaza “to achieve the objectives of the war as determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.” The statement added, “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, in which 251 people were abducted and taken into Gaza, more than 130 hostages have been released, and the bodies of at least 40 others have been recovered. Israeli authorities believe fewer than half of the remaining 59 hostages are still alive.
