Members of the UN Security Council offered their sympathy to Israeli hostages after a video showing an emaciated captive was released by Hamas, but called on Israel to end its self-created humanitarian catastrophe and allow more aid to enter the besieged territory.

One former military chief said that Israel is "well over a year past the point where we could have ended the war."

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would convene his security cabinet this week to discuss how to instruct the military to meet his war goals in Gaza. "We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve all our war objectives: the defeat of the enemy,