Netanyahu Says Israel Could Seize Territory in Gaza if Hostages Not Freed

Palestinians walk amid the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive at Al-Shati camp, Gaza City, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive at Al-Shati camp, Gaza City, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Could Seize Territory in Gaza if Hostages Not Freed

Palestinians walk amid the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive at Al-Shati camp, Gaza City, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive at Al-Shati camp, Gaza City, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated threats on Wednesday to seize territory in the Gaza strip if Hamas failed to release the remaining hostages it still holds. 

"The more Hamas continues in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the repression we exert will be," Netanyahu told a hearing in parliament, which was occasionally interrupted by shouting from opposition members. 

"This includes seizing territory and it includes other things," he said. 

Earlier, Hamas warned that hostages may be killed if Israel attempts to retrieve them by force and air strikes continue in Gaza.  

The group said in a statement that it was "doing everything possible to keep the occupation’s captives alive, but the random Zionist (Israeli) bombardment is endangering their lives."  

"Every time the occupation attempts to retrieve its captives by force, it ends up bringing them back in coffins," it said. 



Turkish Energy Minister Says SOCAR May Become Partner in Providing Gas to Syria

Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)
Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)
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Turkish Energy Minister Says SOCAR May Become Partner in Providing Gas to Syria

Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)
Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday that Azerbaijan's SOCAR could become a partner in Türkiye’s plans to provide Syria with natural gas, adding that Ankara hoped to start the provision soon.

Bayraktar said during a visit to Damascus in May that Türkiye would provide 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Syria annually, in addition to 1,000 megawatts of electricity.

"SOCAR might be a partner with us in this project. I hope we can normalize life in Syria," Bayraktar said during a visit to Vienna for an OPEC meeting.

Ankara, which supported opposition forces in neighboring Syria throughout the 13-year civil war that ended in December with the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, has now become one of the new Syrian government's main foreign allies while positioning itself to be a major player in Syria's reconstruction.