Benjamin Netanyahu is still yet to respond to Donald Trump’s latest push for a “comprehensive peace process” between Israel and Hamas, amid growing backlash from his top officials over demands that Israeli forces withdraw and recommit to a full ceasefire.

Trump on Thursday hailed a “major milestone” towards implementing the Gaza peace plan agreed in October, saying that Hamas would disarm and that Israel would withdraw in phases. His Board of Peace published the 15-point ‘roadmap’ in full on Friday.

But complications emerged swiftly as the Israeli prime minister’s defence minister said on Sunday that Israeli troops would not move before Hamas disarms and its tunnels are destroyed. Hamas, meanwhile, insists that Israel must halt its attacks before they give up their weaponry.

The daily newspaper Israel Hayom, citing unnamed Israeli sources, reported that Netanyahu told the Board’s lead envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, that the IDF would not pull back from its lines during their meeting on Monday, after ramping up airstrikes in Gaza over the weekend, killing 28 people.

Netanyahu was also said to have conveyed that the military would not stop its attacks in the beleaguered Gaza Strip as Hamas is reconstituting and poses a direct threat to the IDF and local settlements, the newspaper said. But Israeli media reported that the bombardment stopped on Monday.

The Board of Peace said that Mladenov had a “constructive and detailed” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials on Monday. They noted that the full withdrawal of the Israeli military “will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators”.

This applies to light and heavy weapons and Hamas tunnels, the board said. Hamas rejects the word “disarmament” but says it will hand over its weapons for storage under the control of a US-backed Palestinian administration after Israel halts operations and withdraws its forces in line with last year's ceasefire.

According to Israel Hayom, Israel’s National Security Council has already raised concerns that the deal “will not achieve the disarmament of Hamas”, claiming the weapons will only pass from Palestinian hands into Palestinian hands and will not leave the Gaza Strip.

The council, the central advisory body for foreign affairs and national security, had previously relayed prime minister Netanyahu’s concerns to the Peace Council and Trump’s people, the report said.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu's office told Reuters that Israel expressed concerns to Washington about the disarmament plan.

“The most important concern for Israel is that nothing can happen before Hamas completely and truly disarms ...,” Doron Spielman, the spokesperson, said.

Last year's ceasefire allowed Israeli forces to retain control of 53% of Gaza initially, before eventually withdrawing. But Israel has instead expanded its control. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Sunday that the Israeli-held area had reached 60% to 70% as Israeli troops search for tunnels.

Israeli troops have occupied and depopulated two-thirds of the enclave, leaving nearly all its more than two million residents confined to a tiny strip of land along the coast, most in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.

Israel's recent expansion of the yellow line has forced people to flee in at least five different areas across the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, Deir Al-Balah, and Khan Younis, seven residents told Reuters.

Soumah Dawla, 60, said that the Israeli-held zone had recently expanded towards her home, after she woke up to find yellow bricks laid by Israeli forces to demarcate the territory had been moved closer.

"We are waiting for displacement at any moment ... Our entire life is gone, our entire future is gone, our children's future is gone," said Dawla, whose family, like nearly all Gazans, has been displaced multiple times since the war began.

At least 1,230 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli strikes since the Trump-backed Gaza peace plan was agreed in October, according to Gaza health authorities. Hamas does not usually disclose its fatalities. Four Israeli soldiers were killed over the same period, according to Israeli tallies.