Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that he would meet with security forces inside the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
A statement released by the office said Netanyahu spoke with soldiers and commanders and received a security briefing.
Netanyahu said: “Nothing will stop us and we are convinced that we have the strength, the ability, the will and the determination to achieve all the objectives of the war, and this is what we will do.”
“We are doing our best to return our hostages and eventually we will return them all,” he added in a video broadcast from his office.
He explained that Israel has three goals in this war: eliminate Hamas, return all hostages and ensure that Gaza does not become a threat to Israel again.
According to what was reported by the “Times of Israel” from the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu inspected one of the Hamas tunnels discovered by Israeli forces.
Netanyahu’s statements came as the truce with Hamas entered its third day on Sunday, but military officials fear a longer truce will weaken Israeli efforts to eliminate the movement classified as terrorist.
In total, Hamas handed over 26 Israeli hostages, some of them of another nationality, to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Friday and Saturday, while Israel released 78 Palestinian prisoners. All those released are women and children.
In the last two days, Hamas has also released 15 non-Israeli foreigners, a measure that was not foreseen in the agreement.
The agreement, mediated by Qatar and with the participation of the United States and Egypt, provides for the release of fifty Hamas hostages, in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners during the four-day truce, which may be extended.