In a televised address, the Israeli prime minister said he had resisted strong domestic and international pressure to achieve his goal of securing Israel's"security," and sharply criticized his opponents and repeated his threat that, if necessary, the war would continue.

- Hamas agreed to the agreement only when it felt the sword on its neck – and that sword is still there... Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized... If this is achieved the easy way - so much the better. If not, it will be achieved the hard way," Netanyahu said.

Waiting for the hostages to be released.

The agreement, signed on Thursday morning and implemented on Friday, provides for Hamas to release 20 live hostages within 72 hours, for Israeli forces to withdraw from parts of Gaza and for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons to be released. The next steps are still unclear.

In his speech, Netanyahu said that achieving security for Israel meant"breaking the Iranian axis, of which Hamas is a key part," implying that this was achieved during 24 months of continuous conflict, the Guardian reported.