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Israel will keep striking Hamas targets in Gaza to ensure the return of hostages, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, as European countries called for a cease-fire and access for aid supplies.
Ophir Falk, Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser, said military pressure pushed Hamas to accept the first truce in November 2023, in which some 80 hostages were returned. He said this was also the surest way to force the release of the remaining 59 hostages.
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IDF strikes in Gaza (Photo: AP)
"The only reason they went back to the negotiating table was military pressure, and that's what we're doing right now," he told reporters.
After weeks of relative calm in Gaza, following a cease-fire deal reached in January, attempts to agree an extension of the halt in fighting stalled and Israel resumed its air strikes and deployed ground troops in areas across the strip.
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Falk declined to give details of negotiations to restore the cease-fire. But he said Israel had accepted proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff for an extended truce until after Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday next month.
"I can't get into the details of the negotiations. What I can say is that we're going to achieve all our war objectives."
Hamas has accused Israel of breaking the terms of the January cease-fire agreement by refusing to begin negotiations for a final end to the war and a withdrawal of its troops from Gaza but has said it is still willing to negotiate and was studying Witkoff's "bridging" proposals.