Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that "there is a chance that this time, we can truly advance a hostage deal" while speaking at the Tel Nof air base, Israeli media reported.
At Tel Nof, Katz met with Israel Air Force commander Major-General Tomer Bar and Israel Air Force Chief of Staff Brigadier-General Omer Tishler, along with other senior commanders.
Israeli media cited Katz as saying, "This is the ultimate goal that stands before us, and we are working in every way to make this happen."
In a recent development, an internal Hamas statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday stated that Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza's Nuseirat camp in June.
Hamas says they would 'neutralize' hostages if Israel carried out rescue op.
In the statement, Hamas threatened to "neutralize" the captives if such an operation took place, Reuters reported.
The internal statement was dated November 22, where Hamas told operatives not to consider any repercussions of following the instructions and said Israel was responsible for the fate of the hostages. It did not say when any Israeli operation was expected to take place.