Netanyahu Vows to Step Up Military Pressure on Hamas

Militant group agrees to ceasefire proposal but rejects Israel's demand for it to disarm

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JERUSALEM/CAIRO - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated a demand on March 30 for Hamas to disarm and for its leaders to leave Gaza, as he promised to step up pressure on the group while continuing efforts to return hostages.

He said Israel would work to implement US President Donald Trump's "voluntary emigration plan" for Gaza and said his Cabinet had agreed to keep pressuring Hamas, which says it has agreed to a ceasefire proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Mr. Netanyahu's comments were a recipe for "endless escalation" in the region.

Mr. Netanyahu rejected assertions that Israel, which has resumed its bombardment of Gaza after a two-month truce and sent troops back into the enclave, was not negotiating, saying "we are conducting it under fire, and therefore it is also effective."

In a video statement issued on March 30, he said: "We see that there are suddenly cracks."