Israel’s Gantz calls on government to return hostages from Gaza, not to allow settlers in

"We must get the hostages out of Gaza, and not allow other settlers to enter the strip,” Gantz told the local FM 103 radio.

“We have blessed settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), so let us preserve them," he said. "We have nothing to look for in Gaza except the hostages and security.”

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are considered illegal.

Gantz, a former War Cabinet minister, called on Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire in Gaza to guarantee the return of Israeli hostages.

“I say to Netanyahu: Make a plan and start suspending the fighting until this plan is realized,” he said.

“(Netanyahu) should have enough courage – if he intends to release the hostages, let him do it, and if he thinks he cannot do it and does not intend to do it – let him say so.”

Tel Aviv, which holds over 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons, estimates that there are 101 Israeli captives in Gaza. Hamas announced that dozens of the captives were killed in random Israeli airstrikes.

The Israeli opposition and families of the captives accuse Netanyahu of refusing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza for fear of his coalition government collapsing, amid threats by extremist ministers to withdraw from the ruling coalition.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on Gaza following a Hamas attack last year. The ensuing Israeli onslaught has killed nearly 44,300 people, most of them women and children, and injured more than 104,700.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn increasing international recognition, with figures and institutions labeling Israel’s actions as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.