Bezalel Smotrich, the hard-line finance minister, said that Israel needed to move more decisively and quickly to defeat Hamas.

Israel's far-right finance minister has demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrap his plan to seize Gaza City in favour of a tougher one, while Italy said on Sunday the plan could result in a "Vietnam" for Israel's army.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.” He is speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem and defending a planned military offensive. He asserts that “our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza.”