The Israeli military said it had deployed additional "infantry, armour, engineers and artillery” in Gaza and had killed dozens of Hamas militants in fighting in the territory, while Palestinians said Israeli forces had reached the outskirts of Gaza City.
At a time of mounting concern about the fate of more than 230 hostages captured by Hamas, Israeli military and intelligence authorities said that an Israeli soldier, Ori Megidish, had been released during ground operations by the Israel Defense Forces.
Ahead of a war cabinet meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said the IDF was expanding its presence in Gaza "in measured, very powerful steps, making systematic progress one step at a time”.
"Calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terror, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen,” he added.
Megidish is the first hostage to be rescued to date, although Hamas released four abductees last week.
Hamas released a video of three other hostages in what Netanyahu described as an act of "brutal psychological propaganda”.
In the video, a woman identified as Danielle Aloni, a 44-year-old from the town of Yavneh, said Palestinian prisoners should be released by Israel to allow her and the other captives to return home.
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