Netanyahu pledges to ‘settle the score’ with Hamas after bodies of six killed hostages found in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the Hamas on Sunday (Sep 1), as he vowed to "settle the score" with the militant group after the discovery of six hostages' bodies from a Gaza tunnel.

Speaking to the press, Netanyahu declared, "Those who kill hostages do not want a deal" and warned that Hamas leaders would be relentlessly pursued. He emphasised, "We will hunt you down, we will catch you and we will settle the score."

Inconceivable brutality

Netanyahu pointed at Hamas'"inconceivable brutality," and said, "We saw the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas murderers on October 7, and we have seen it again in the tunnels under Rafah."

"The fact that Hamas is continuing to perpetrate atrocities like those it carried out on October 7, requires us to do everything, so that it will not be able to perpetrate these atrocities again."

"Citizens of Israel, our efforts to free our hostages are continuing constantly. Since December, Hamas has refused to hold genuine negotiations," he added.

He also accused Hamas of launching a deadly shooting attack near Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

"Citizens of Israel. We are fighting on all fronts against a brutal enemy who wants to murder us all. Only this morning, it murdered three police officers in Hebron,"Netanyahu said.

His comments come amid escalating violence, as Israeli forces announced the retrieval of the bodies of six hostages, identified asCarmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino.

According to an AFP report quoting asenior Hamas official, some of the six Israeli hostages had been "approved" for release in the event of a truce deal.

"Some of the names of the captives announced as found by the (Israeli) occupier… were part of the list of hostages to be released that Hamas had approved" in a proposed exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, the Hamas official said.

Opposition calls for labour strike

Meanwhile, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called for drastic measures to pressure the government into securing the release of remaining hostages.

Lapid urged Israelis "whose heart was broken this morning" to participate in a major protest in Tel Aviv later on Sunday and appealed to the country's main labour union, businesses, and municipalities to strike.

(With inputs from agencies)