Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that in the last 24 hours, Israel's military attacked power plants in Yemen as well as targets in Gaza and Lebanon.

He affirmed that one of Israel's conditions for ending the war in Gaza is what he called Israel's "security control" over the Strip.

The plan drew rejection from the Palestinians and international condemnation.

"Those who call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas' position," Netanyahu said.

He spoke at the cabinet meeting while protesters demanding a hostage deal escalated their campaign with a one-day nationwide strike that blocked roads and closed businesses, as police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests.

Protesters, who fear further fighting could endanger the 50 hostages believed to remain in Gaza, with only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive, chanted: “We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages.”

Netanyahu has demanded the immediate release of the hostages but is balancing competing pressures, haunted by the potential for mutiny within his coalition.

Far-right members of his cabinet insist they won't support any deal that allows Hamas to retain power. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages, they threatened to topple Netanyahu's government.

Hospitals and eyewitnesses in Gaza reported at least 17 aid-seekers had been killed by Israeli forces on Sunday, including nine awaiting aid trucks close to the Morag corridor.

Israel’s air and ground war has already killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza and displaced most of the population. The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began.

Also, Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital Sunday, escalating strikes on Iran-backed Houthis, who since the war began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea.