During an interview with ABC News "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir, Netanyahu was pressed on the Biden administration's calls for humanitarian pauses in Gaza.
"There will be no ceasefire, general ceasefire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages," Netanyahu stressed. "As far as tactical little pauses, an hour here, an hour there. We've had them before, I suppose, will check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages to leave. But I don't think there's going to be a general ceasefire."
"I think it will hamper the war effort. It'll hamper our effort to get our hostages out because the only thing that works on these criminals in Hamas is the military pressure that we're exerting," he added.
Asked if there would be such a pause if Hamas to agree to the release of hostages, the Prime Minister responded, "There will be a ceasefire for that purpose.”