Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israeli troops in northern Gaza and tells them war will not stop

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Gaza on Monday, meeting with soldiers in the besieged enclave and pledging to push on with the war against Hamas, as pressure on his government increased to recover hostages still held by the militant group.

“Whoever talks about stopping, there is no such thing,” Netanyahu told soldiers on a visit to an army staging ground in the north of the strip, the area of Gaza that has suffered the heaviest bombardment since the start of the war on October 7, and where Israel claims to have secured military control over large areas.

“The war will continue until the end,” Netanyahu said, in an exchange published by the government together with photos of the Israeli leader in military gear, meeting the troops and being briefed by Israel Defense Forces commanders.

But criticism in Israel is growing over the lack of clear military success and the growing death toll among soldiers, as well as the fact that more than 100 hostages are believed to still be held by Hamas and other factions in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has refused to discuss a fresh prisoner exchange without a permanent ceasefire.

Netanyahu was forced to defend the military campaign in Gaza during a speech in the Knesset on Monday, saying “military pressure” was needed for the hostages to be freed and said Israel would “turn over every stone” to achieve this goal. The war “is not close to being over”, he added.

He also said he had contacted Russia, China and the Pope for help, as families of hostages protested, interrupting his speech to Israel’s parliament with cries that there was “no time” to wait any longer for the release of their loved ones. Relatives also fear that hostages may be killed in Israel’s intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said that the return of the hostages…