International Desk

Israeli forces hammered Rafah in southern Gaza with tanks and artillery Saturday, hours after US President Joe Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire.

Shortly after Biden's announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his country would still pursue the war until it had reached all its aims.

He reiterated that position on Saturday, saying that "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".

A permanent ceasefire without those conditions being met was "a non-starter", he said.

Hamas, meanwhile, said it "views positively" the plan laid out by Biden, reports AFP.

In his first major address outlining a possible end to the conflict, the US president 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 while the talks remained underway, Biden said.

The US leader urged Hamas to accept the Israeli offer. "It's time for this war to end, for the day after to begin," he said, in comments echoed by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

- Israel insists on war aims -

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his counterparts from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Friday to press the deal.

UN chief Antonio Guterres "strongly hopes" the latest development "will lead to an agreement by the parties for lasting peace", his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Israeli offer "provides a glimpse of hope and a possible path out of the war's deadlock", while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed a "balanced and realistic" approach to end the bloodshed.

Saudi Arabia stressed its "support for all efforts aimed at an immediate ceasefire" and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Indonesia, meanwhile, said it was ready to send "significant peacekeeping forces" as well as medical personnel to Gaza if a ceasefire is agreed.

But Netanyahu took issue with Biden's presentation of what was on the table, insisting on Friday the transition from one stage to the next in the proposed roadmap was "conditional" and crafted to allow Israel to maintain its war aims.

"The prime minister authorised the negotiating team to present an outline for achieving (the return of hostages), while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved," Netanyahu's office said.

"The exact outline proposed by Israel, including the conditional transition from stage to stage, allows Israel to maintain these principles."

Israel has repeatedly vowed to destroy Hamas since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7.

- Intense shelling -

On Saturday, residents reported tank fire in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood in west Rafah, while witnesses in the east and centre of Rafah described intense artillery shelling.

"From the early hours of the night until this morning, the aerial and artillery bombardment has not stopped for a single moment", a resident from west Rafah told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"There are a number of occupation (Israeli) snipers in high-rise buildings overseeing all areas of Tal al-Sultan... making the situation very dangerous", the resident added.

There was also shelling and gunfire from the Israeli army in Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian territory, according to an AFP reporter.

Before the Rafah offensive began, the United Nations said up to 1.4 million people were sheltering in the city.

Since then, one million have fled the area, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has said.