In open defiance of the newly agreed ceasefire agreement, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has declared that the occupation army will resume its military onslaught on Gaza once the remaining hostages are returned.

In a post on X, Katz said that once the first phase of the deal is ended with the release of all hostages, Isarel will resume its operation to destroy Hamas.

“Israel’s great challenge after the phase of returning the hostages will be the destruction of all of Hamas’s terror tunnels in Gaza, directly by the IDF and through the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States” said Katz.

“This is the primary significance of implementing the agreed-upon principle of demilitarizing Gaza and neutralizing Hamas of its weapons.

I have instructed the IDF to prepare for carrying out the mission.”

האתגר הגדול של ישראל לאחר שלב החזרת החטופים יהיה הריסת כל מנהרות הטרור של חמאס בעזה באופן ישיר ע”י צה”ל ובאמצעות המנגנון הבינלאומי שיוקם בהובלת ופיקוח ארה”ב.

זאת המשמעות העיקרית של מימוש העיקרון עליו סוכם של פירוז עזה ונטרול חמאס מנשקו.

הנחיתי את צה”ל להיערך לביצוע המשימה.

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) October 12, 2025

Katz’s statement came less than a day after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire framework brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, intended to end Israel’s two year-long genocide. 

Despite the deal, Katz’s remarks make clear that Israel views the truce not as a step towards ending the military assault on the Gaza strip but as a temporary pause before relaunching its military offensive. 

Katz’s public instruction for the Israeli army to prepare new operations suggests an intention to resume large-scale attacks in violation of the ceasefire agreement international humanitarian law.

Israel’s military campaign has already killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and displaced nearly two million. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) continues to hear South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, citing evidence of deliberate targeting of civilians, starvation, and the destruction of Gaza’s health and education systems.

READ: 2 Israeli lawmakers demand US recognition of Palestinian statehood as Trump addresses Knesset