Israel is not ready to consider a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until its conditions have been met, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, contrary to earlier reports from the United States.
"The claims that we have agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met are incorrect," Netanyahu stated following a meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden unexpectedly presented details of a draft deal in three phases that Israel had ostensibly agreed to. The first phase foresaw a full and unconditional ceasefire for six weeks along with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip.
A group of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas would then be released, including women, the elder and the injured. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by the Israelis would be released in return, according to Biden.
The second phase would see a permanent end to the fighting and the release of the remaining hostages, followed by a final phase in which a start would be made to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu responded on Saturday by saying that Israel's conditions for an end to the war had not changed. These included the total destruction of Hamas and the release of all the hostages.
Speaking in a video message on Monday, Netanyahu said the Israeli government was working in countless ways to secure the return of the hostages and that his thoughts were with them, their families and their suffering.
Biden says deal still on
The offer now on the table represents the best chance for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, with Hamas presenting the only obstacle, Biden said after a phone call with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
"The president confirmed Israel's readiness to move forward with the terms that have now been offered to Hamas," the White House said in a statement.
Biden had emphasized that the offer was the best possible opportunity for an agreement, "and that Hamas' ongoing refusal to release hostages would only prolong the conflict and deny relief to the people of Gaza," it said.
Biden had urged Tamim to "use all appropriate measures to secure Hamas’ acceptance of the deal and affirmed that Hamas is now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza," the White House said.
Asked about Netanyahu's insistence that there would be no ceasefire until all Israeli demands had been met, US National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby said he would not comment on Netanyahu's comments or why he had made them.
"All I can tell you is this proposal is an Israeli proposal. It is the result of intense diplomacy between our two teams. The president characterized it accurately, and now it's up to Hamas to accept it," Kirby said.
G7 backs Biden's deal
The leaders of the Group of Seven leading Western industrialized nations (G7) "fully endorse" the agreement presented by Biden as it would lead to "an enduring end to the crisis, with Israel's security interests and Gazan civilian safety assured," according to a statement published by the Italian G7 presidency on Monday evening.
"We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so," the statement said.
Fate of four hostages confirmed
Four hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip died some months ago in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari has revealed.
The four men, the youngest of whom was 51 and the eldest 84, died under unknown circumstances, Hagari said.
In December, Hamas published a video showing three of the men, and in March it reported that they had been killed in attacks mounted by Israeli forces. The IDF said it now has had independent confirmation of their deaths.
Fears are rising in Israel that many of the 124 hostages still unaccounted for may have died.
Attack on Israel's southernmost city
Israel's military on Monday said its air defence system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired towards the southern port city of Eilat.
The IDF said sirens sounded in Eilat, but no casualties were reported. The missile came from the direction of the Red Sea, it added.
The Times of Israel newspaper said the attack likely came from Yemen's Houthi militia, which is allied directly with Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
The Houthis have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea for months since Israel's invasion of Gaza, which came in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
The rebel Houthi group has also repeatedly fired rockets at Israel, calling for an end to Israel's operations in Gaza.
