Tel Aviv, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has deemed US President Joe Biden's Gaza proposal for a truce as 'partial', as per a government spokesman David Mencer quoted by AFP news agency. However, Netanyahu reportedly indicated that the plan could commence even without all terms being fully agreed upon.

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Biden introduced an Israeli three-phase plan to halt the conflict and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas as well as rebuilding the Gaza Strip.

"The outline that President Biden presented is partial," Mencer said while quoting Netanyahu. Speaking over the plan, Mencer elaborated that "the war will be stopped for the purpose of returning the hostages" but there will be subsequent discussions. These discussions, as per the AFP report, will be on ensuring that Israel can root out the militant group from Gaza completely.

In a separate statement, Netanyahu dismissed claims that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire without its conditions being met. He said that these assertions were "incorrect."

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Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right coalition partner, criticised Biden's proposal and called it "irresponsible." He argued that the plan would end the war without fulfilling the cabinet's clear objective of destroying Hamas.

Ben Gvir warned his party would "break up the government."

Contrarily, opposition leader Yair Lapid, a centrist and former prime minister, urged the government to consider Biden's proposal and pledged to support Netanyahu if far-right coalition partners abandoned the government.

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Netanyahu has been reiterating that Israel's primary goal remains the destruction of Hamas and the recovery of captives held in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has launched a drone squadron towards the Israeli military’s Galilee formation headquarters.

Slovenia delays Palestinian state recognition

In Slovenia, the conservative opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) has filed a proposal for an advisory referendum on a decree for Palestine statehood recognition. This motion filed by the opposition will now delay the parliamentary vote by about 30 days.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. 

(With inputs from agencies)