Netanyahu: Military pressure necessary for hostage release

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Monday that Israel will not be able to release hostages still held in Gaza without military pressure.

In a speech in front of the Israeli Knesset, Netanyahu added, "We have not succeeded so far in releasing more than 100 hostages without military pressure."

He continued, "And we will not be able to release all the hostages without military pressure."

Under a deal brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in late November, over 100 of the 240 hostages captured during an attack by fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7 were released.

Netanyahu said, "Military pressure, operational pressure, political pressure, and for this reason, there is one thing we will not do... we will not stop fighting."

Reuters