Trump says Hamas should be 'confronted and destroyed'

Amid Israel's bombardment and forced starvation of Gaza's population, US President Donald Trump appears to have expressed support for expanding Israel's military in Palestine in a recent social media post.

"We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be," Trump wrote in the post. 

His statement comes against a background of protests that have been taking place in Israel to secure a deal that would see the release of Israeli captives in Gaza.