Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the country will take more territory in Gaza and fight until Hamas is wiped out if the Palestinian group keeps refusing to free remaining hostages, Reuters reports.

He spoke as mediators continued efforts to salvage Gaza’s ceasefire deal shattered by Israel’s renewal of air and ground fighting on March 18 after it and Hamas failed to agree on terms for an extension of the two-month-old truce.

“If Hamas continues with its intransigence, it will pay heavy prices that get higher and higher in the taking of territory [by Israel] and in taking out militants and terror infrastructure until its complete surrender,” Katz said in a video reported by Israeli media.