Tel Aviv, Israel - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday cast doubts on hopes for a ceasefire in Israel's brutal war on Gaza by insisting on Hamas's destruction as part of a plan presented by US President Joe Biden.

"Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel," the Israeli leader said in a statement.

"Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place."

"The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter," Netanyahu added.

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Biden had announced Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire in Gaza, but at times seemed to contradict himself by urging the US ally to accept what was presented as its own proposal.

Setting out a plan virtually identical to the one Hamas agreed to weeks ago and rejected by Netanyahu, Biden said Israel's three-stage offer would begin with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.

It would also see the "release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for (the) release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners."

Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate during those six weeks for a lasting ceasefire – but the truce would continue as long as talks remained underway, Biden said, leaving open the possibility that one party could unilaterally break off negotiations.

Hamas has said it "considers positively" the plan laid out by Biden.

Meanwhile, Israel continued to heavily bomb Gaza and its southern city of Rafah on Saturday, despite being ordered to halt its military operations in that region by the International Court of Justice.