The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has denounced Israel’s expansion of the offensive in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement, it said families of the captives remaining in Gaza were “horrified” to wake up to the defence minister’s announcement that the military is stepping up its military operations in the Palestinian enclave to seize more territory there.

“Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘territorial gains’?” the group asked.

“Instead of securing the release of the hostages through a deal and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers into Gaza to fight in the same areas where battles have already taken place repeatedly,” it added.

“The responsibility for the release of the 59 hostages held by Hamas lies with the Israeli government. Our grave concern is that this mission has been pushed to the bottom of its priorities and has become merely a secondary objective.”