UN chief Guterres warns hostages, Gaza aid access should not be 'bargaining chips'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to "demolish Hamas" as his military prepared to move into the Gaza Strip in search of Islamist militants whose deadly rampage through Israeli border towns shocked the world.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Sunday for Hamas to release hostages without conditions and for Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid access to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

"Each one of these two objectives are valid in themselves. They should not become bargaining chips and they must be implemented because it's the right thing to do," Guterres said in a statement.