Israel expresses security concerns over proposed Hamas disarmament deal

Israel has conveyed “serious security concerns” to the White House over the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said, in some of the first public comments from Israel since US President Donald Trump announced the agreement. According to Doror Spielman, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Hamas remained “committed” to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely disarming. He stressed that the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where Tel Aviv currently controls more than 60% of the territory — until Hamas lays down its weapons. “Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another October 7-style attack,” Spielman told AP, referring to the Hamas militant attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. “Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” he added. His remarks came days after Hamas announced that it would begin disarming as part of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement reached nine months ago to end the nearly three-year-long conflict. The development represents a potential breakthrough in efforts to end the war, although significant hurdles, conditions and lengthy timelines remain.

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan requires Hamas to surrender its weapons and dismantle its tunnel network. It also envisions an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a new technocratic Palestinian government, an international security force and the reconstruction of the devastated enclave. Under the agreement, weapons held by Hamas-run police would be transferred to the US-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza once it enters the enclave. The timing remains unclear, as it depends on other steps. Decommissioning and storing heavy weapons, along with dismantling military production sites and tunnels, would begin after the committee and international forces arrive and would coincide with a phased withdrawal. Areas under Tel Aviv's control have been largely destroyed and depopulated, while most of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians remain in the rest of the territory, many in makeshift tent camps and damaged neighbourhoods. However, a significant withdrawal appears unlikely before Israel’s October elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from far-right coalition partners to maintain military operations and keep troops in Gaza, while opponents blame his government for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023, attack. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 others in the attack. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued striking Gaza since the ceasefire took effect last October, maintaining that its operations target Hamas and its infrastructure. At least 17 people, including children, were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, according to local hospitals. A strike on a residential apartment in southern Gaza killed three members of one family, including a 4-year-old child, according to Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military maintained that the strikes targeted militant operatives.