Netanyahu instructs military to 'step up pressure' on Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he has instructed the military to "step up the pressure" on Hamas. 

The Palestinian group has rejected an Israeli proposal for a temporary truce, and instead has demanded an end to the war in exchange for the release of all Israeli captives. 

In a late-night televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu said that Israel had "no choice but to continue fighting for our very existence, until victory."

He described Hamas' proposal for a ceasefire as a "ruse" which would "make returning to war impossible". 

"I believe that we can return our hostages without capitulating to the dictates of Hamas," the prime minister said.

Netanyahu said he had always "believed that the combination of military pressure and diplomatic pressure would lead to the release of our hostages".

He added: "Many did not believe this. But to date we have returned 196 hostages - 147 of them alive. There are still 24 living hostages held in Gaza and 35 slain hostages. The mission is not yet complete. I intend to complete it without surrendering to Hamas.

"We will step up the pressure on Hamas until we achieve all the goals of the war."

Earlier in the day, Hamas said it had recovered the body of a guard killed in an Israeli air strike this week. The guard had been holding Edan Alexander, an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last American citizen held alive in Gaza.

The fate of Alexander is unknown, Hamas said.