Hamas 'doesn't want a deal': Netanyahu

Recent videos released by Hamas of emaciated hostages had only strengthened his determination to defeat the group and bring the hostages home, he said.

Israel's foreign ministry posted an image of hostage Evyatar David comparing his skeletal body to that of his "well fed" Hamas captor.

Israel believes 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with only 20 alive and Hamas has barred humanitarian organisations from having any access to them.

The UN Security Council will hold a special session on Tuesday on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza.

Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the families of the hostages still believed to be in Gaza is scathing about Netanyahu's handling of the crisis.

"Expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages who are at risk of imminent death. We saw the chilling images of the hostages in the tunnels, they won't survive more long days of horror," it said in a statement.

The images of hostages in a state of acute malnutrition have shocked people around the world, with leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron expressing horror.

Israel suspects Hamas deliberately brought the hostages to the brink of starvation to exert pressure on the government.

"They [Hamas] want to break us - with these horrifying videos, with the false horror propaganda it spreads across the world," Netanyahu said.

"But we will not break."

According to Israeli media, the government is considering military action to rescue the remaining hostages.

An unnamed Israeli official told several newspapers that Netanyahu was seeking to secure their release "through decisive military victory".

Talks with the US are ongoing, the official added, amid signs that Hamas remains unwilling to reach a deal through indirect negotiations.

However, humanitarian aid for the Palestinian civilian population would be guaranteed, except in combat zones and areas under Hamas control.

Hamas on Sunday said it was prepared under certain conditions to allow the Red Cross to supply food and medicine to the Israeli hostages.

A spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the organisation's military wing, said on Telegram they would respond positively to a request from the Red Cross.

However, Israel must enable the comprehensive and permanent supply of aid for the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

Israel must also cease all aerial reconnaissance during the period in which help reaches the hostages, Hamas said.

Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave.

The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said.

Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tonnes of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that co-ordinates aid, said four tankers of UN fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services.

Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.

UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble.

with reuters