Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he holds a news conference at the Prime Minister s office in Jerusalem. AP
Biden on Friday presented what he labelled an Israeli three-phase plan that would eventually end the war, free all captives held by Palestinian militants and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip without Hamas in power.
"The outline that President Biden presented is partial," government spokesman David Mencer quoted Netanyahu as saying, adding in a press briefing that the war will be stopped for the purpose of returning the captives after which discussions will follow on how to achieve the Israel's goal of eliminating Hamas.
Netanyahu, in a separate statement issued by his office, said that "claims that we have agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met are incorrect".
The prime minister's far-right coalition partner National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Monday that the latest plan was "irresponsible".
Ben Gvir added that the proposal laid out by Biden would mean "the end of the war without achieving the objective that the cabinet clearly set: the destruction of Hamas".
If Netanyahu would "sign on an irresponsible deal", Ben Gvir said his party "will break up the government".
But opposition leader Yair Lapid, a centrist former premier, has said the government "cannot ignore Biden's important speech", vowing to back Netanyahu if his far-right coalition partners quit.
At least 36,479 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza in Israeli bombardments and ground offensive.
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediation efforts have stalled since a one-week truce in November that saw dozens of hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and a surge in humanitarian aid deliveries into besieged Gaza.
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