Unable to find a diplomatic response to the hostage crisis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressure for a “military solution” to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas terrorists, an Israeli official ABC said on Sunday.
Netanyahu suggested extending the Israeli military operation to Gaza and using the military force to extract the final hostages that have been in captivity since they were kidnapped in the terrorists of October 7, 2023, surprised against Israel by Hamas terrorists.
It is believed that there are about 20 living hostages which are still detained by Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 8, 2025.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
The Israeli official told ABC News that Israel and US officials were in constant dialogue.
The official said that there was an increasing understanding of the Israeli side that Hamas is not interested in an agreement on hostages.
“Consequently, Prime Minister Netanyahu pushes to extend military operations to release hostages by a military solution,” said the Israeli official.
Thousands of demonstrators on Saturday, thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Tel Aviv, asking their government to end the war and bring the last hostages home.
“They are on the absolute edge of death,” said Ilay David, whose brother, Evyatar David, is among the other Israeli hostages held by Hamas, to demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv. “In the current unimaginable state, there are only days to live.
Hamas published a video during the weekend showing that Evyatar David looked painfully emaciated.
The demonstration broke out for hours after Steve Witcoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy in the Middle East, met families of the hostages in Israel still in captivity.
While the global concern about the Hunger crisis in Gaza is intensifying, Witkoff and the United States ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee went to the Middle East on Friday to inspect the help distribution system in the United States and Israel.
For months, humanitarian aid organizations and international organizations have warned that Gaza faces “critical” hunger levels and that famine is “imminent” in certain parts of the Gaza Strip.
An increasing number of deaths due to malnutrition have also been reported, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health managed by Hamas.
At least 175 people, including 93 children, died of malnutrition in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Throughout the conflict, Israel argued that he sent enough help to Gaza, but international aid organizations said on several occasions that there was not enough aid, and the United Nations reported malnutrition conditions inside Gaza.
The Israeli source that spoke to ABC News said that humanitarian aid will continue to enter Gaza into areas external to combat areas and areas not controlled by Hamas.
