Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said that a truce under way with Hamas in Gaza is a “short pause”, after which Israel will resume operating with full military force, Reuters reports.

Gallant made the remarks to his Italian counterpart who was on a visit to Tel Aviv, according to his office. He spoke as Israel prepares to receive 13 hostages set to be freed from Gaza, in return for the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners.

“There will be a short pause and then we will continue operating with full military power. We will not stop until we achieve our goals: the destruction ofHamas and bringing home the hostages from Gaza to Israel — there are 240 hostages and it is something we cannot accept and cannot tolerate.”