On Monday, Israel announced it would allow a 60-day period for Hamas to disarm, warning that Israeli forces would move to “complete the mission” if the armed group refuses to surrender its weapons, as diplomatic efforts tied to President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan move into a second phase.
Speaking in Jerusalem at the Besheva Group conference Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs said the US administration had requested the 60-day window and that Israel was complying. During that time, he said, Hamas “will have to give up all of its weapons.”
“We will evaluate it,” Fuchs said. “If it works, great. If not, then the [Israeli military] will have to complete the mission.”
Fuchs said the process would also require the destruction of extensive tunnel networks, including those “on our side as well.” He added that it was “reasonable” to expect that before Israeli elections that could potentially be held in June, Hamas would either have relinquished its weapons or Israel would be engaged in an intensive military campaign in Gaza.
Netanyahu has linked the continuation of President Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan to Hamas’ disarmament, a condition the group has rejected. In October, the prime minister said Israel was intensifying pressure on Hamas while preparing for the next phase of the plan: “We are pressuring Hamas from all sides, preparing for the next phase of the plan, which will disarm Hamas and demobilize Gaza. If this is achieved by an easier way, so be it. If not, it will be achieved by a harder way.”
Last week, a senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashal declared at a Doha conference the group would not surrender its arms or accept foreign intervention in Gaza, rejecting Israeli and US demands.
The diplomatic push comes as President Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace is set to convene in Washington this week, its first official meeting since being established in January. The group is expected to announce that its member states have pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding Gaza.