This Israeli prime minister's comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that seemed to gain momentum after Hamas released the last living American hostage this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday of standing with Hamas after Macron said Israel's policy in Gaza was "shameful". Netanyahu said Israel was sticking to its war aims of securing the release of its hostages,

President Trump is pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a hostage deal and end the war in Gaza. The push comes as Israel intensifies airstrikes in Khan Younis. Debora Patta reports.

The air and artillery strikes were focused on the northern section of the tiny, crowded enclave, where dozens of people including women and children were killed overnight, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Khalil al-Deqran.

Humanitarian support has collapsed in the enclave, which has been under total Israeli blockade for more than two months. Aid groups warn that the territory is on the brink of famine.

For decades, Israel has leveraged its special relationship with the United States to serve as a gatekeeper to Washington. From the Camp David Treaty with Egypt to the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump in his first term,

The ramped up strikes began just hours after the Trump administration brokered the release on Monday of Edan Alexander in direct talks with Hamas.

Israeli military strikes killed at least 60 people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as the United States and Arab mediators pushed for a ceasefire.