Lt. Gen.

In a press conference, the military spokesperson, Lt Gen Chaudhry, said the school bus attack "had nothing to do with the Baloch identity, rather it was just India's provocation".

“India has already said it has achieved its objectives. Now, the ball is in Pakistan’s court. If they wish to retaliate then that would elicit a strong response from India,” retired Indian Lt Gen D S Hooda said.

"Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations," Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said.

Despite that statement, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports that the military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, presented operational orders to commanders this week that put "returning the hostages" bottom of a six-point list, with "defeating Hamas" at the top.

During a visit to a naval base on Sunday, the Israeli military's Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir told special forces that tens of thousands of reservists were being called up "in order to strengthen and expand our operations in Gaza".