TEL AVIV — Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said Sunday in what were some of the first public comments since President Trump announced the agreement last week.
Doron Spielman, spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office, told the Associated Press that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarizing. He said the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where it controls more than 60% of the territory — before Hamas disarms.
“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 Oct. 7-style attack,” he said, 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,” Spielman said.
His comments come days after Hamas said that it would begin disarming as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire signed nine months ago to end the nearly three-year-long conflict. It marks a potential breakthrough in ending the conflict, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remain.
Many obstacles remain
The 20-point U.S. ceasefire plan calls on the militant group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave.
Hamas disarming has been a sticking point and has deadlocked negotiations for months. In announcing the deal on social media on Thursday, Trump said it would be carried out in “carefully structured phases.”
A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by the AP said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the enclave. It’s not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps.
A process to decommission and store heavy weapons and to dismantle military production sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement.
The areas Israel controls in Gaza have been mostly destroyed and depopulated. Most of the territory’s 2 million Palestinians are in the other part, where hundreds of thousands live in squalid tent camps and destroyed neighborhoods.
Israel appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or make other concessions ahead of its October elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tough reelection battle, with his far-right coalition partners urging him to keep up the pressure on Hamas and leave forces in Gaza, and opponents accusing him of failing to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities then, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with a punishing military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.
Israel warns Hamas is rearming
While Spielman said Israel appreciates Trump’s commitment to its security and to finding a durable resolution, the government’s position on disarmament is based on detailed intelligence saying that Hamas continues to rearm, recruit fighters and rebuild its military capabilities.
It’s unclear what exactly Israel conveyed to the White House. Two people with knowledge of the deal told the AP that Israel had communicated its issues with it to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who’s part of the Trump-led “Board of Peace.” One of them said that among the points Israel wanted was freedom to conduct military operations in Gaza. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Israel continues to strike Gaza
Since the ceasefire was signed in October, Israel has continued striking Gaza, saying it’s targeting Hamas and its infrastructure. Those attacks have continued since Hamas’ agreement to disarm.
Overnight Saturday and into Sunday, Israeli strikes killed at least 17, including children, local hospitals said. A strike on an apartment in southern Gaza killed three family members, including their 4-year-old child, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies arrived.
The Israeli military said the latest strikes had targeted Hamas military operatives.
Mednick writes for the Associated Press.
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