No let-up in Israeli strikes on Hamas as mediators urge both to accept truce plan

Netanyahu insists on pursuing war until Hamas is destroyed and hostages freed

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Israel battled and bombarded Hamas in the Gaza Strip on June 2 as mediators called on both sides to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

Since Mr Biden spoke at the White House on May 31, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the war, which has been raging since Oct 7, until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the captives.

Mr Netanyahu, a hawkish political veteran leading a fragile rightwing coalition government, is under intense domestic pressure from two sides.

Protesters supporting the hostages, who rallied again in their tens of thousands in Tel Aviv on June 1, are urging him to strike a truce deal.

But right-wing extremist allies are threatening to bring down the government if he does.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid has offered Mr Netanyahu a lifeline by vowing to support the government if it strikes a deal to pause the war that has raged for almost eight months.

For now, fighting again rocked Gaza overnight and on June 2, with the military reporting more air strikes and ground combat, and Palestinian officials reporting yet more deaths.

Across Gaza, the military said it had struck "30 terror targets, including military infrastructure, weapons storage facilities and armed terrorist cells that posed a threat to IDF (Israel Defence Forces) ground troops".

Mr Netanyahu said on June 1 that "Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel".

Palestinian militant group Hamas, meanwhile, said it "views positively" what Mr Biden on May 31 described as the Israeli plan.