TEL AVIV — An unnamed official within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told Israeli media outlets on Monday that the Israeli leader was determined to renew intense fighting in order to conquer the entire Gaza Strip, a move widely seen as reflecting the government’s stasis in the face of the 22-month war.

The statement, in fact, reflects the dead end Netanyahu has reached: He has been unable to crush Hamas or force it to release more than 50 hostages — both alive and dead — still in captivity. Meanwhile, he faces intense international pressure over widespread famine among Gaza’s Palestinian population and a growing domestic outcry over mounting Israeli troop casualties.

Netanyahu is no doubt well aware of the senselessness of renewed fighting against Hamas, which has been destroyed as an organized arm but remains a deadly guerrilla force entrenched in dense urban areas, and the mammoth task of governing a devastated territory and its 2 million residents. But he remains tied to the extremist political partners in his coalition who are determined to take over the Gaza Strip and revive the Jewish settlements that Israel uprooted 20 years ago.

Israel's political, military brass split