Israel’s newly appointed defence minister Israel Katz has vowed to prioritise the return of Israel’s hostages from Gaza and the “destruction” of Hamas and Hezbollah, in his first post on X since accepting the role, Reuters reports.

“We will work together to march the security system to victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all the abductees as the most important value mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the containment of Iranian aggression and the return of the residents of the north and south to their homes in safety,” he said.