Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring home all the hostages still held by militants in war-stricken Gaza, where the civil defence agency said 73 people were killed Thursday in his country's ongoing offensive.

Netanyahu has come under strong pressure to get the hostages back after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire with Palestinian militant group Hamas that could lead to their release.

"I feel a deep commitment, first and foremost, to ensure the return of all our abductees, all of them," Netanyahu told inhabitants of the Nir Oz kibbutz, the community that saw the most hostages seized in the 2023 Hamas attacks that sparked the war.

"We will bring them all back," he added, in filmed comments released by his office.

Netanyahu is due to meet Trump in Washington DC next week, with the US president expected to push for a ceasefire.

"I want the people of Gaza to be safe more importantly," Trump told reporters Thursday when asked if he still wanted the US to take over the Palestinian territory, as he announced in February. "They've gone through hell."

Israel's leaders have held firm to their aim of crushing Hamas, even as the group said Tuesday it was discussing new........

© Al Monitor