If the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip are not released,"the fighting will continue without ceasing," warned the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, on Saturday during a visit to his troops in the Palestinian territory.

"I believe that in the coming days we will know if we can reach an agreement to release our hostages. If not, the fighting will continue without ceasing," said Lieutenant General Zamir, in an army statement sent to AFP on Saturday.

He"conducted a field visit and assessment of the situation" in the Gaza Strip on Friday, accompanied by several senior military officers, the statement said.

"The war continues and we will adapt it to the changing reality, according to our interests," he said, adding that"the successes achieved give us operational flexibility."