Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his war cabinet on Monday that Israel is making "systematic progress" in its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu said the Israeli army "has expanded its ground entry into the Gaza Strip, it is doing it in measured, very powerful steps, making systematic progress one step at a time", according to an official video statement of the start of the meeting.
Israel has staged daily air raids since the October 7 attacks by Hamas which unleashed the latest war. Israel says that 1,400 people were killed in the attacks and 239 people were abducted.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 8,300 people have been killed in Israel's strikes.
Netanyahu, who has faced increasing pressure over the fate of the hostages, said that alongside the army strikes, "we are continuing our efforts to free the abducted people, even during the (land) operation.
"The operation even creates opportunities to obtain (their) liberation and we will not miss them," he said.
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