JERUSALEM

Chairman of the Israeli Labor Party, Yair Golan, hailed a speech by US President Joe Biden on Friday in which he announced a new cease-fire proposal that he said was greenlighted by Tel Aviv.

Biden is "a true friend of Israel," who "says in his voice what everyone in Israel already understood in the early stages of the war. The condition for the return of all the captives is the cessation of fighting," Golan wrote on X.

"Now the fighting must stop and bring everyone home." the opposition party leader added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office, however, responded to the speech with an intention to continue the military’s offensive in the Gaza Strip until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved.

The proposal has three phases, the first spanning six weeks and includes a full cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, which killed less than 1,200 people and around 250 were taken as hostages. As many as 105 captives were released as part of a brief truce in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Around 125 people remain captive, with many believed to be dead due to Israeli airstrikes.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, have so far failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar