Netanyahu says Israel not to withdraw from current Gaza positions until Hamas fully disarmed

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country will not withdraw its forces from their current positions in Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed.

“We are instructing IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves, our territory and our citizens,” Netanyahu said in a video released on social media.

Regarding the deal US President Donald Trump said Thursday the so-called “Board of Peace” had reached for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, Netanyahu said that the White House “sent us a draft,” but “we did not agree to it.”

“It is not our draft. We sent our comments,” he said.

A day after Trump’s announcement of the deal, Hamas said it had agreed to the “latest version of the roadmap” for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement after “fierce” negotiations, but conditioned weaponry arrangements on a complete halt to “aggression,” Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, and progress on reconstruction, Xinhua news agency reported.

Over the weekend, Israeli strikes reportedly killed dozens of people, including children and other civilians, across Gaza, prompting Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye, mediators in the Gaza ceasefire talks, to issue a joint condemnation on Monday.

Earlier, Hamas agreed to relinquish both its civilian and military role in governing Gaza under a new internationally backed roadmap that would hand control of the territory to a transitional Palestinian administration as part of a phased peace process, according to senior administration officials.

The proposal, announced by Trump as part of his Gaza peace initiative, goes beyond a ceasefire by outlining a detailed plan to dismantle Hamas’s governing structure. Instead a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, an independent Palestinian body would oversee both civilian administration and internal security during a transitional period.

Senior administration officials said the roadmap represents the first time Hamas has agreed to accept an international framework that requires it to surrender its governing role while allowing a new Palestinian authority to assume responsibility for administering Gaza.

The document states that all civilian and security responsibilities would be transferred to the National Committee, which would become the sole authority responsible for running public institutions, maintaining essential services and enforcing law and order across the Gaza Strip. It also calls for the committee to conduct a comprehensive audit of Gaza’s financial and administrative affairs before beginning reconstruction.

IANS