TEL AVIV/CAIRO, Aug 5 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, and was to meet senior security officials on Tuesday to finalize a new strategy in the 22-month war. Mediation between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has collapsed despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu appeared shaken in a statement after footage emerged of two hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, both looking skeletal and pale in an underground tunnel.

JERUSALEM: Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel’s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas,…