This came in a statement by Lapid during his meeting with representatives of the families of Israeli prisoners, according to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

"The opposition will support every step and every deal, no matter how far-reaching, that leads to the return of the kidnapped," he said.

"We will not say that we would have managed the matter better, but the kidnapped people must return, and it is our duty to return them.”

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "there will be no cease-fire in Gaza without the return of our abductees" from the Gaza Strip.