US President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “reduce the number of casualties” in his pursuit to destroy Hamas.

“I encourage the Prime Minister to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties, while he is attempting to eliminate Hamas, which is a legitimate objective he has,” The US President told a press conference Friday, local time.

“That’s a difficult task, and I don’t know how long that will take.

“My expectation and hope is that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world in the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end.”

President Biden’s comments come as 24 hostages have been released by Hamas as part of the four-day ceasefire between Israel and the militant group.

Qatar negotiators have also said 39 people – primarily women and children, will be released from Israeli jails under the terms of the truces.