If Netanyahu sacrifices hostages' lives to destroy Hamas amid the Gaza City operation, he'll imperil the pact between Israel and Jews.

A negotiated settlement to end the fighting remains distant, in part because of the maximalist positions of Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, and of Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Western Wall in Israel to pray for the Israeli hostages.

Qatar’s prime minister accused Israel of ignoring the hostages in the Gaza Strip when it attacked Hamas leaders in Doha, but he vowed Thursday not to abandon efforts to end the nearly two-year war. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an emergency meeting of the U.

An Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday that it now controls about 40% of the city, where about one million people lived prior to the war.

US President Donald Trump said that some of the 20 hostages who are presumed to be alive in Gaza may have “recently died,” as Israel calls on Palestinians living in Gaza City to evacuate ahead of an expanded assault.

Israelis hold a protest calling for the end of the Israel-Hamas war and for the safe return of all hostages outside the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem, on Tuesday. Israel has started a major ground invasion in Gaza City,

The mood in Israel has changed, too. When the IDF attacked Gaza city 22 months ago, Israelis were nearly unanimous in their support. Hamas had burst out of Gaza, massacring nearly 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. The public agreed that the group needed to be destroyed.