The final draft watered down language from "demands" to "calls" for humanitarian pauses, and for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups."

The IDF released video from inside Shifa Hospital that showed three duffel bags it said it found hidden around an MRI lab, each containing an assault rifle, grenades and Hamas uniforms, as well as a closet that contained a number of assault rifles without ammunition clips.

"If we pull back, then who will take over? We can't leave a vacuum. We have to think about what will be the mechanism; there are many ideas that are thrown in the air," the Israeli president said in an interview with the FT.

Follow the latest developments in Operation Swords of Iron.

Hamas likely believed that had Israel subscribed to small-scale approach, they could build on the success of October 7 and effect a change that would result in a new “equation” between the organization and the Jewish state. Meaning, the release of the imprisoned terrorists, lifting the blockade, and stopping the normalization process between Israel and Saudi Arabia.