The Israeli military warned that expanding the war on Gaza, as decided by the political-security cabinet on Sunday, could lead to the deaths of Israeli prisoners held in the Gaza Strip who are still alive.

Security officials said during a cabinet meeting that there is a possibility that Palestinian fighters holding Israeli captives will flee areas that will be invaded by the Israeli army and leave the Israeli captives in tunnels without food and water, leading to their deaths within days, according to Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday.

The Israeli military also warned that as military operations in the Gaza Strip expand, the likelihood of aid reaching the locations where these prisoners are being held will diminish.

The newspaper added that there is widespread concern within the security establishment that Hamas will attempt to hide the bodies of Israeli captives in wells and bunkers, which would be difficult for the army and Shin Bet to locate. In such a scenario, the bodies may never be found, should Hamas members with knowledge of the captives' whereabouts be killed.

Contrary to the position of the political echelon and claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the primary objective of the war is "victory over our enemies," the Israeli military claims that the return of prisoners is the most important objective of the war.

Israeli army spokesman Ephraim Deveren said yesterday that "the ultimate goal of the military operation is to return the kidnapped soldiers, and then to eliminate and defeat Hamas rule, but the kidnapped soldiers come first."

But Deveren added, "The Israeli army is subordinate to the political echelon and operates in full coordination with it. The plans have been presented to the political echelon, and I repeat that the goal of the war is to free the kidnapped soldiers and eliminate Hamas. These two goals are interconnected, and this is what we believe and for this we work."

Channel 13 quoted Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir yesterday as telling ministers during security discussions that expanding the war "could lead to the loss of the kidnapped soldiers."

But Netanyahu reiterated yesterday that the expansion of the war would take place in accordance with the military plans Zamir presented to the cabinet. This was echoed by a "political source in the Prime Minister's Office," who said that the military plans unanimously approved by the cabinet and presented by Zamir aim to "defeat Hamas in Gaza and return the kidnapped soldiers, and are fully consistent with the prime minister's statements in recent months."

Amid the lack of clarity over the goal of expanding the war, and whether it is to free prisoners or "eliminate Hamas," an Israeli security source said yesterday that the political-security cabinet, during its meeting, issued an ultimatum to Hamas: either agree to a prisoner exchange deal by the time of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East in two weeks, or Israel would launch a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip with the aim of defeating Hamas.

Since the beginning of the war, Netanyahu had refused to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. He yielded to American pressure at the beginning of this year and agreed to such an agreement, which went into effect on January 19. However, at the end of the first phase of the agreement, he resumed the war on Gaza on March 18.

Netanyahu and his government subsequently rejected proposals put forward by Hamas and by the mediators in the negotiations, including American proposals. He insisted that the primary goal was to "eliminate Hamas" and then release the Israeli prisoners. This followed his refusal to stop the war and withdraw the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, as Hamas demanded. The cabinet, the day before yesterday, decided to occupy the entire Gaza Strip.