Jerusalem Here, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s top priorities are to destroy Hamas and secure the release of the captives remaining in captivity in Gaza.

“In this fight, we have numerous objectives. Our goal is to return all of our captives. It is a very significant objective. “But the ultimate goal of the war is to defeat our adversaries,” Netanyahu said Thursday in a speech held in conjunction with the nation’s 77th Independence Day.

The comments were a departure from Netanyahu’s earlier claims that conquering Hamas was not more crucial than securing the release of the 59 hostages currently in captivity in Gaza. They also coincided with a deadlock in mediated negotiations over a possible ceasefire agreement and ongoing weekly demonstrations in Israel calling for the conflict to halt in order to ensure the release of the captives, while Netanyahu’s far-right coalition allies maintain the war must go on.

Netanyahu is “aligning” with his far-right ally and pro-settler leader Bezalel Smotrich, who has repeatedly stated that freeing the hostages “is not the most important goal” and has urged Netanyahu to reoccupy Gaza and hold it indefinitely, according to a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the majority of the hostages’ families, according to Xinhua news agency.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that the Israeli military “is ready and prepared to strike (Hamas) a decisive blow” during a separate Independence Day celebration in Jerusalem.

“We will enhance the power, speed up activities, and employ every ounce of might available to us. We’ll take care of it as quickly as possible,” Zamir said.

Netanyahu is scheduled to have a special meeting with top defense officials on Friday before extending the air and ground attack in Gaza, according to Israel’s Army Radio.

A truce that went into force in January allowed for the final exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives. After around two months, Israel terminated the truce in March and went back to its lethal attack in the Palestinian territory.

Gaza health officials said on Thursday that 2,326 Palestinians had been killed and 6,050 wounded as a result of the latest Israeli bombardment. Since the war started in October 2023, the number of people dead in the enclave has increased to 52,418, with 118,091 injured.

According to knowledgeable Egyptian sources who spoke to Xinhua on Tuesday, Israel is demanding that Hamas disarm before agreeing to Egypt’s request for a six-month Gaza ceasefire.