Israeli media outlet Haaretz has called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "pay the price" for the release of hostages held by Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"The government has adhered to the line it adopted from the beginning, according to which military pressure will foster a hostage deal, although that belief is challenged with every passing day," Haaretz said in an editorial.
"The awful fear and concern held by the hostages' families for their loves ones is entirely justified, and as Israel delays advancing a deal, the number of dead on the list of 136 hostages will continue increasing."
Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 136 hostages following its cross-border attack into Israel on Oct. 7.
The Palestinian group demands an end to Israel's deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip for any deal on a prisoner swap with Israel.
The Israeli government has rejected calls for halting the Gaza war until destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.
"This week's tragic events, however, proved that Hamas is far from feeling defeated," Haaretz said.
On Monday, at least 24 Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hamas ambush, in the worst single-day death toll since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7.
"Indeed, it is time to stop feeding lies to the public, and especially to the families of the hostages. The latter understand this," Haaretz said.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack, killing at least 25,700 Palestinians and injuring 63,740 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
