Benjamin Netanyahu has asked for “forgiveness” from Israelis for failing to return six hostages found dead in Gaza on Saturday, as Hamas warned more could be “returned to their families in shrouds” if a ceasefire isn’t reached.
His comments came as intense street protests over his handling of negotiations entered a second night in Israel.
Pressure also mounted internationally as the UK suspended some arms sales to Israel, citing a risk of equipment being used to violate international law.
But Israel’s prime minister struck a defiant tone, insisting its troops must control Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor – a strategically important strip of land which is a sticking point in negotiations with Hamas.
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Monday in fresh protests called by hostages’ families to express their anger at Mr Netanyahu’s failure to bring home their loved ones after almost 11 months.
The Times of Israel reported that police were using considerable aggression at one protest outside the prime minister’s home in Jerusalem, including violently pushing protesters, throwing some to the ground, and dragging many away.
One member of the police squeezed the throat of a Times of Israel reporter, according to the newspaper.
The latest demonstrations come after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protests across the country on Sunday, with some demonstrators blocking a major highway in Tel Aviv. Many wore Israeli flags and hung yellow ribbons – a symbol of solidarity with the hostages – from a bridge overlooking the Ayalon Highway.
A total of 97 hostages remain unaccounted for after being kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October last year.
Hamas said on Monday that hostages would be returned “inside coffins” if military pressure from Israel continues and added that “new instructions” have been given to militants guarding captives if they are approached by Israeli troops.
“Netanyahu’s insistence to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal means they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose whether they want them dead or alive,” a spokesperson for the group said, without elaborating on what new orders had been issued.
Earlier on Monday, Israel’s biggest trade union said hundreds of thousands of people had joined a general strike called to put pressure on the government to agree a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.
Despite this, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport reported limited disruption and many restaurants and hospitality services operated as normal. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that Israelis had gone to work “in droves” and proved that they were no longer slaves to “political needs”.
Many accuse Mr Netanyahu of blocking a deal to prioritise his own political survival – a claim he rejects.
Mr Netanyahu’s far-right allies have threatened to pull out of the coalition government, undermining his chances of staying in power, if he were to accept a deal tied to a permanent ceasefire before Hamas was destroyed.
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 97 hostages still being held, including 33 who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.