JERUSALEM/GAZA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip, saying his government would keep targeting remaining militant cells despite a ceasefire that took effect last month.

"Some Hamas cells remain active in parts of Gaza under our control, and we are systematically eliminating them," Netanyahu told ministers, citing areas in Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

"Disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip is our guiding principle," he said, adding that it was a goal he had agreed on with US President Donald Trump. "If it cannot be achieved one way, it will be achieved another."

Netanyahu said Israeli forces would continue to act to protect troops still in Gaza, adding that Israel would notify its US allies of operations "but will not ask their permission." He said Israel would not compromise its "supreme security responsibility."

His remarks came as the White House works to preserve the ceasefire and secure further hostage releases, even as Israeli strikes have continued, though at a reduced pace.

Gaza health authorities said on Sunday that at least 236 Palestinians had been killed and 600 wounded by Israeli fire since the truce began more than three weeks ago, bringing the total death toll since Oct 7, 2023, to 68,865.

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Netanyahu also urged Lebanon's government to enforce its commitment to disarm Hezbollah, accusing the group of rearming, and warned that Israel would act in self-defense if necessary.

Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz called on Beirut to remove Hezbollah forces from southern Lebanon, saying in a statement that "maximum enforcement will continue and intensify - we will not allow any threat to residents of the north."

The Israeli military said it killed four members of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force on Saturday in the latest strike, part of ongoing cross-border attacks that have persisted despite the ceasefire reached last November.

Israel receives three bodies from Hamas

Also on Sunday, Israel said it had received the remains of three hostages from Hamas in Gaza, as part of the ongoing exchange of bodies under the ceasefire agreement.

The remains were handed over to Israeli forces inside the Gaza Strip by the International Committee of the Red Cross and will be transferred to the national forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

"Once the identification process is completed, an official notification will be delivered to the families," the office said.

If confirmed, it would leave the bodies of eight hostages still in Gaza, out of 28 that Hamas was required to return to Israel under the truce, in exchange for the bodies of 360 Palestinian militants killed in the conflict.

Humanitarian aid

Separately, Hamas rejected US accusations that its members looted humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip, calling the claims false and politically motivated.

"We strongly condemn the false accusations made by US Central Command regarding the alleged looting of an aid truck," Hamas said in a statement. It described the US allegations as "baseless and unjustified", accusing Washington of trying to justify "further reductions of already limited humanitarian aid".

Hamas said no international or local aid agencies, nor any drivers working with convoys, had reported such an incident.

"The continued US adoption of the Israeli narrative only deepens its immoral bias and makes it a partner in the blockade and the suffering of the Palestinian people," the group said.

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US Central Command said Saturday that a US drone had observed suspected Hamas operatives seizing an aid truck from a convoy in southern Gaza. CENTCOM said the truck was part of a humanitarian convoy carrying supplies provided by Israel and that the driver's fate remained unknown.

Hamas said the image released by CENTCOM was fabricated.