Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while the military’s mission was to bring home all the hostages from Gaza, its “supreme goal” was to achieve victory against Hamas, AFP reports.

“We want to bring home both the living and the fallen — this is a very important mission,” Netanyahu said at a function in Jerusalem marking Israel’s Independence Day.

“But in war, there is one supreme goal — and that is victory over our enemies, and we will achieve it.”