Netanyahu: I am not ready to stop the war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he is not ready to stop the war in the Gaza Strip. "We may stop fighting for 42 days to facilitate the return of prisoners, but we will not give up our goal of complete victory," he added.

"I am not ready to stop the war," Netanyahu was quoted as saying at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "The war will be stopped to return the prisoners, and then we will discuss."

Israel's prime minister declined to discuss the number of Palestinian prisoners who would be released under the proposed hostage deal.

On Friday, Biden said Israel had presented a three-step deal that would end fighting in Gaza and free prisoners held in the enclave.

"There are other details that have not been revealed. "We may stop fighting for 42 days to facilitate the return of prisoners, but we will not give up our goal of complete victory," he added.

He said President Joe Biden's comments about the ceasefire proposal were "wrong".

Biden urged the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to accept the offer and Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of the ruling coalition.

Hamas, for its part, said it would "respond positively to any proposal, such as a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip, the completion of a comprehensive agreement on reconstruction, the return of displaced persons and the exchange of hostages."

The International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of genocide, ordered Tel Aviv to immediately cease operations in the southern city of Rafah in its latest ruling. More than one million Palestinians lost their shelter after the Israeli occupation.