The Israeli prime minister says the military will "return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated" if the hostages are not freed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the cease-fire would end if Hamas did not release captives held in Gaza. But he did not say how many hostages had to be freed.

After nearly 16 months of fighting, Hamas has progressively released detainees since the first phase of a truce began on January 19, but said on Monday that it would not release any more until further