Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point peace plan for Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the Israeli military will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas is fully disarmed.
"Israel rejects the 15-point document. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
The rejection came a day after Hamas said it was ready to proceed with the US-backed plan and urged pressure on Israel to implement it.
Hamas informed Trump's Board of Peace that it supported moving to the next stage of the proposal, under which its operatives would hand over their weapons to a newly established Palestinian governing committee in Gaza.
"Hamas and other factions have confirmed to mediators their readiness to begin implementing the agreement and move to the second phase, provided it receives Israeli approval and that Israel begins implementing the agreement," a Hamas official told AFP on Saturday.
Netanyahu's statement puts Israel and Hamas at odds over the conditions for implementing the next phase of the proposed agreement, with Israel insisting on Hamas' disarmament before an Israeli military withdrawal.
The development follows a joint declaration by the United Arab Emirates and seven other Muslim-majority countries earlier in the week. The countries strongly criticised Israel's military campaign in Gaza and said its actions threatened to undermine Trump's peace framework aimed at ending the conflict.