Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days, despite ongoing ceasefire efforts and the release of a US-Israeli hostage from the war-ravaged territory.

"In the very coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation," Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement from his office on Tuesday.

"Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas," Netanyahu said.

"There will be no situation where we stop the war. A temporary ceasefire might happen, but we are going all the way."

The prime minister's comments followed the return on Monday of 21-year-old soldier Edan Alexander, who had been in Hamas captivity since the militant group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Netanyahu had credited Alexander's release to a combination of "our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by (US) President (Donald) Trump."

But on Tuesday, Hamas rejected the claim.

"The return of Edan Alexander is the result of serious communications with the US administration and the........

© International Business Times