Hamas is said to be holding around 20 live hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu no longer believes a deal can free the people. According to media reports, he is considering expanding the Gaza war.

In light of shocking videos of emaciated hostages held by the militant Islamist Hamas, Israel's government is apparently considering expanding the war in Gaza to free the abducted people."I understand exactly what Hamas wants. They don't want a deal," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message.

Netanyahu said, according to an English translation by the Times of Israel, that he is now even more determined to free the hostages, eliminate Hamas, and ensure that the Gaza Strip never again poses a threat to Israel. He did not provide details.

What's happening to the hostages in Gaza?

Media: Decision to be made this week

Israeli media simultaneously quoted an unnamed official as saying that the head of government was seeking to secure the release of the hostages"through a military victory."

The Israeli leadership will decide this week whether to escalate the fighting - even at the risk of harming hostages - or whether to allow more time for a possible agreement, Channel 12 News reported.

According to the report, there are different views within the leadership. Some are for, others against, an expansion of the fighting.

Horror among hostage families

The Hostage Families Forum sharply criticized Netanyahu's statements."For 22 months, the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back," the newspaper quoted a statement from the group as saying.

"The escalation of the war endangers the lives of the hostages, who are in imminent danger of death. We have seen the horrifying images of the hostages in the tunnels; they will not survive further long days of horror," said the statement from the forum, which represents the majority of the hostages' families.

Hamas videos show emaciated hostages

According to Israeli authorities, there are currently 50 hostages in the Gaza Strip, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive. In recent days, Hamas released videos showing two of these hostages, two young men, in a state of acute malnutrition, declining physical strength, and emotionally broken.

One of the videos shows the emaciated Evyatar David seemingly digging his own grave in a narrow tunnel. Another video shows the German-Israeli Rom Braslavski forced to watch news videos about the Palestinian famine in the Gaza Strip.

The videos caused great outrage in Israel and internationally. Netanyahu said in his video message that Hamas wanted to break Israel"with these horrific videos, with the false horror propaganda they spread throughout the world." But they would not allow themselves to be broken.

In an interview with the Tagesthemen newspaper, Tal Shoham, who was held captive in a Hamas tunnel for 505 days, explained that he received very little food during this time.

Sometimes it was just a small piece of pita bread for the next 24 hours."Shortly before I was released, they admitted that they had deliberately given us so little food. They wanted us to look bad and suffer."

Hamas ties supplies to conditions

Hamas had previously denied humanitarian organizations any access to the hostages. However, the terrorist organization has now stated that it is willing to allow the Red Cross to provide the hostages with food and medicine.

A spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the terrorist organization, announced on Telegram that they would respond positively to a request from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

At the same time, Hamas set far-reaching conditions: Israel must ensure comprehensive and sustained supplies to the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, Israel must cease all air strikes and reconnaissance during the period of aid distribution and hostage care.

UN Security Council to discuss, according to Israel

According to his office, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had previously spoken with the ICRC's regional delegation leader, Julien Lerisson, and asked him to ensure that the Red Cross immediately provided the Israeli hostages with food and medicine.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Danny Danon, announced an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday to address the situation of the hostages."Hamas terrorists are starving and abusing the Israeli hostages," he wrote on Platform X. It is time for the UN Security Council to"unequivocally condemn" Hamas's actions.