Hirsch's statement came after a security meeting chaired by Netanyahu on Thursday evening, which was devoted to following up on efforts related to the return of the bodies of Israeli prisoners from Gaza.
According to the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Hirsch met with the prisoners' families after the meeting and informed them that "pressure on Hamas continues and will escalate" as part of efforts to recover the bodies.
Hirsch informed the families that Netanyahu had discussed by phone with Trump earlier Thursday the pace of repatriating the bodies of the remaining Israelis from Gaza.
Frequency of repatriation of bodies
The phone call between Netanyahu and Trump addressed "the pace of returning the bodies of the dead (Israeli prisoners) held in Gaza," according to the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom.
The newspaper noted that Netanyahu briefed the US president on the steps he intends to take in response to what Israel described as "delays by Hamas" in implementing the agreement.
She noted that Trump "affirmed his full support for Israel's actions (without elaborating)," claiming that "the United States stands with Israel in its right to defend itself," as he put it.
Since Monday, Hamas has released the 20 living Israeli prisoners and handed over the bodies of 10 of the 28, most of whom are Israelis. Hamas says it needs special equipment to search for and retrieve the remaining 18 bodies, while Tel Aviv says one of the 10 bodies it received does not match any of the prisoners in the Strip.
In return, the Israeli occupation army released 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, and 1,718 others arrested in the Gaza Strip after October 8, 2023. More than 10,000 Palestinians remain in prison.
Next stages
Earlier Thursday, the families of the Israeli prisoners demanded that their government halt the implementation of the next stages of the exchange agreement and ceasefire in Gaza until the remaining bodies of those killed by Hamas are recovered.
On Wednesday, Israeli officials said that negotiations to implement the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas had not yet begun, despite Trump's statements on Tuesday confirming that they had begun.
Israel 24 quoted unnamed Israeli officials as saying, "Contrary to reports, the second phase of negotiations has not yet begun, and will not begin until the first phase is completed with the return of all the hostages' bodies."
The prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas comes as part of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that went into effect on October 10.
The agreement is based on a plan proposed by the US President, whose country has supported Israel's war of extermination on Gaza since October 8, 2023, which has claimed the lives of 67,967 martyrs and 170,179 wounded, most of them children and women, and led to a famine that claimed the lives of 463 Palestinians, including 157 children.
