ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he will not be “preached” to after he faced demands by his own citizens to reach a ceasefire deal.

Thousands of Israelis protested and went on a general strike on Sunday and Monday following the discovery of six dead hostages.

Late on Monday, thousands gathered outside Mr Netanyahu’s private home in central Jerusalem, chanting: “Deal, now!” and carrying coffins draped in the Israeli flag.

In an address following the protests, Mr Netanyahu said he would continue to insist on his demands, which include continued control of the Philadelphi corridor — a narrow band along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

“No-one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me ... No one will preach to me on this issue,” he said.

Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations by issuing new demands.

The group has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israel forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

But Mr Netanyahu has pledged “total victory” over Hamas and says he is ready to carry out the first phase of the ceasefire plan but refuses a full withdrawal from Gaza.

As Israel’s war on Gaza continues, so does its raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Associated Press reported bulldozers tearing up roads and the Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces were blocking ambulances from reaching the wounded.

Health officials have said at least 29 people have been killed, including five children, in six days of the attack, with residents saying electricity and water are cut off.

Mohannad Hajj Hussein, a Jenin resident, said: “We are ready to live by candlelight and we will feed our children from our bodies and teach them resistance and steadfastness in this land.

“We will rebuild what the occupation destroyed and we will not kneel.”