The Times of Israel reports: “The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it was not dragging its feet in the Gaza Strip and was continuing to ramp up pressure on Hamas to bring the terror group to agree to a hostage deal, but was not moving ahead with a major offensive just yet.

The Israel Defense Forces on March 18 resumed its attacks against Hamas with a surprise wave of airstrikes, ending a two-month ceasefire. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.

A major offensive, which is intended to defeat Hamas on the battlefield, would likely cause the ceasefire-hostage negotiations to completely collapse, according to the military. Such an offensive would also endanger the remaining 59 hostages still held by Hamas, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

The IDF had set no deadline for when the major offensive would begin, and said it would be decided upon by the political leadership. Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly threatened to launch a wide-scale offensive against Hamas if the hostages are not released soon…”