Israel rejects US-backed Gaza disarmament plan
Tents for displaced people are crowded west of Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza, 12 May 2024
The New Arab Staff & Agencies report in The New Arab on 5 August 2026:
Israel did not agree to the US-backed plan for Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, even after receiving assurances that an Israeli pullout would only happen after Hamas disarms.
The Palestinian group, meanwhile, reiterated its commitment to the roadmap published by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace last week, which includes provisions for the group to hand over its weapons and an Israeli withdrawal.
In a video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said Trump’s team “believes that they can bring about the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza”.
“We are checking this. They sent us a draft – we did not agree to it, it is not our draft. We sent our comments,” he said.
Israel’s military chief on Wednesday said the country’s forces would continue to “operate proactively” in the Palestinian territory despite Hamas’s disarmament pledge.
“In the Gaza Strip, we have struck Hamas, significantly weakened it, and fundamentally changed the security reality,” Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said while visiting troops in Gaza, according to a military statement. The IDF will continue to operate proactively and according to the principle we established – to remove threats and, in every situation, protect the communities and their residents and safeguard their security.”
Israel has ignored the terms of the October ceasefire and continued almost daily attacks in Gaza, killing at least 1,254 people.