Hamas says Netanyahu 'lying' to captive families as Israeli PM threatens land takeover

Hamas accused the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “lying to the families of the [captives] when he claims that the military option is capable of bringing them back alive”.

“Whenever the occupation tries to recover its [captives] by force, it returns them dead in coffins,” the Palestinian group said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera.

The group said Netanyahu's breach of the ceasefire and returning to war was a premeditated decision driven by pressure from far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“Netanyahu bears full responsibility for the failure of the agreement, and the international community and mediators must pressure him to halt the aggression and return to the path of negotiation,” the statement said.

The statement came as Netanyahu threatened Hamas with intensifying its "pressure" if the group refused to release captives still held in Gaza.

"I say this to my colleagues in the Knesset, and I say it to Hamas as well: This includes the seizure of territories, along with other measures I will not elaborate here," Netanyahu told parliament, as reported by AFP.