The prime minister of Algeria offered an unapologetic defense on Monday of the country’s tough actions to end the Sahara hostage crisis, saying that the militants who had carried out the kidnappings intended to kill all their captives and that the army saved many from death by attacking.

But the assertion came as the death toll of foreign hostages rose sharply, to 37, and as American officials said they had offered sophisticated surveillance help that could minimize casualties, both before and during the military operation to retake a seized gas field complex in the Algerian desert.

While some have shunned the Algerian government’s decision to pass on several Western countries’ offers to assist with the situation, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal staunchly defended Algerians right to protect themselves from any/all attackers. “Algerians are not people who sell themselves out,” Sellal told members of the press, adding, “When the security of the country is at stake, there is no possible discussion.”