Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there’s “no way” Israel will halt its bombardment on Gaza even if a deal is reached to release more captives, Al Jazeera reports.

In comments released by his office from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day, Netanyahu said Israeli forces are just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission … It means destroying Hamas”.

Any ceasefire reached would be temporary, the prime minister added. If Hamas were to say it will release more captives, “we’ll take them and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war. We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end”.