"We must not forget that according to Jewish tradition, there is no greater commandment than to redeem captives and hostages, especially when they are Israeli citizens that the State of Israel has not been able to defend," Herzog said at a conference at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Herzog thanked the President of the United States for the impetus for a new proposal for an agreement, which Joe Biden announced on Friday night, and "for the ongoing efforts to achieve the release of all hostages held by Hamas".

The President said that he had spoken to Netanyahu about the proposal and had promised him "full support" in reaching an agreement.

"It is our inherent obligation to bring them [the hostages] home as part of an agreement that preserves the security interests of the State of Israel," he said, quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE.

According to Israel, 121 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, although it is feared that many of them may be dead.

The proposal announced by Biden, with Israel's approval, provides for a phased ceasefire, which in a second phase includes the definitive cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

For Netanyahu, the proposal does not contradict the main objectives of the war, which are "to end Hamas and bring back all the hostages".

Hamas welcomed the project, but demanded more detailed information on the different phases of the agreement.

The hardline wing of the Israeli government, represented by far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, threatened to leave the coalition if Israel accepts the deal.

They argued that the deal would prevent the main objective of the war, which they consider to be the dismantling of Hamas.

Both lead the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power parties, which together have 14 seats in the Knesset (Israeli parliament), crucial to preventing Netanyahu's government from falling.

The leader of the opposition, centrist Yaid Lapid, asked Netanyahu on Saturday to accept the agreement and pledged not to overthrow the government so that the pact can be implemented.

The leader of the centre-right, Benny Gantz, who is part of the war cabinet, called for the cabinet to meet as soon as possible to "formulate the next steps" and finalise the agreement.

Israel launched the offensive in Gaza after being attacked by Hamas on 7 October 2023, in an unprecedented action that caused about 1,200 deaths and two hundred hostages, according to the authorities.

Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, said that the offensive launched by Israel after the attack has already caused more than 36,300 deaths and the destruction of much of the infrastructure of the Palestinian enclave.

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