{"id":573818,"date":"2026-08-03T20:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/573818\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T20:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:10:14","slug":"israel-presses-doubts-about-gaza-plan-as-hamas-warns-airstrikes-will-derail-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/573818\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel presses doubts about Gaza plan as Hamas warns airstrikes will derail effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Israel faced growing criticism<\/a> from the Board of Peace for its continued strikes on Gaza, despite Hamas\u2019s recent signing of a US-backed disarmament plan, a senior Israeli spokesman said Monday that the roadmap \u201cdoes not reflect Israel\u2019s positions,\u201d and \u201cstands in direct contrast to the current reality\u201d in the Strip.<\/p>\n

Compounding that criticism, an Israeli official said Monday that \u201cIsrael will not withdraw from the current line in the Gaza Strip, and will continue to eliminate any threats to our citizens and our soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deal, which both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have signed on to, would see Hamas gradually hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian administration in Gaza, but the arms would remain in the territory. It says Gaza will run under the principle of \u201cone authority, one law, one weapon,\u201d and Gazans will be allowed to keep personal weapons subject to licensing from the new government.<\/p>\n

It also mandates that Israel begin withdrawing from land it holds in Gaza before Hamas has fully disarmed.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to officially comment on the development, leaving top ministers and anonymous \u201csenior officials\u201d to voice disapproval<\/a> of the plan, despite US President Donald Trump\u2019s assurance<\/a> that Israel was \u201cvery happy\u201d with the deal.<\/p>\n

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On Sunday, the Board of Peace\u2019s top Gaza envoy Nickolay Mladenov lamented the previous two days of Israeli strikes in Gaza that \u201chave killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on,\u201d and said that the Board was working to \u201cde-escalate and create the space for the full implementation of the president\u2019s plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians respond at the site of an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, August 2, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)<\/p>\n

Following the criticism from the Board of Peace, Prime Minister\u2019s Office spokesman Doron Spielman said Monday that\u00a0\u201cIsrael has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe version that has been made public does not reflect Israel\u2019s positions,\u201d he said, contradicting earlier statements from Board of Peace officials that Israel was briefed \u201cextensively\u201d as the deal came together.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past eight months, according to Israeli intelligence, Hamas has used the ceasefire to rearm, recruit thousands of additional terrorists, rebuild its military infrastructure, and prepare for further October 7-style massacres,\u201d Spielman said, stressing\u00a0that the first clause in the framework envisions a \u201cderadicalized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat vision stands in direct contrast to the current reality and to Hamas\u2019s stated intentions,\u201d he said, calling for the \u201cgenuine, verifiable, and irreversible demilitarization of Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDemilitarization means Hamas physically surrendering its weapons,\u201d Spielman added. \u201cAnything short of full demilitarization will leave Hamas with the capability to threaten Israel again.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Prime Minister\u2019s Office threw cold water on the developments, President Isaac Herzog on Monday gave a more upbeat assessment, saying he sees \u201ca lot of positive elements in the efforts of the Board of Peace, under the auspices of President Trump and his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPresident Isaac Herzog, right, walks with the new German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, left, at the President\u2019s Residence in Jerusalem, August 3, 2026. (GPO\/Oz Schechter)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think his 20-Point Plan, which was adopted by the UN Security Council, and now, moving forward with the guidelines and the agreements that are going to be reached, is a very positive step with the clear caveat\u2026 that Hamas must be disarmed, and I hope Hamas will be disarmed fully,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is clearly the basis of moving forward to the next phase by bringing in the government of technocrats,\u201d said Herzog, adding that the efforts of Trump, the Board of Peace and Mladenov can \u201cbring a certain vision of hope, also to the people of Gaza and to the people of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far-right ministers urge PM to block entry of ISF troops<\/p>\n

Amid the dispute over the agreement, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements Minister Orit Strock demanded that Netanyahu immediately convene the security cabinet to prohibit the entry of International Stabilization Force troops, as was approved last week.<\/p>\n

The cabinet approved the move to allow 200 troops from \u201cfriendly countries\u201d into the Palestinian enclave. ISF troops would first deploy along the borders of a pilot humanitarian zone in Gaza being planned by the Board of Peace in the area of the flattened city of Rafah.<\/p>\n

According to the decision, the entry of ISF forces would still be subject to the specific approval of Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, left, and Settlements Minister Orit Strock announce a government plan for dozens of new settlements in the West Bank, July 14, 2026. (Courtesy Religious Zionism)<\/p>\n

Writing to Netanyahu, the two far-right politicians asserted that the decision to allow the troops to enter Gaza had been based on \u201cincorrect information\u201d and that the Board of Peace roadmap \u201cis dangerous to Israel and completely contradicts the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

They called to reconvene the cabinet to roll back the decision and \u201cadopt a preventative cabinet decision that will block the implementation of the Roadmap published by the Board of Peace, and to compel the Peace Council to amend the outline so that it aligns with the goals of the war and the commitments made to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamas urges mediators to press Israel to stop strikes<\/p>\n

A Hamas official told Al Jazeera Monday that the disarmament plan will not be able to go ahead unless Israel halts what appeared to be a stepped-up campaign of airstrikes in the Strip.<\/p>\n

The official said the group has contacted mediators and urged them to intervene directly to compel Israel to completely cease its military operations in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made it clear to the mediators that the continued attacks will disrupt the implementation of the agreement and the negotiations over its timeline,\u201d the Hamas source said.<\/p>\n

According to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours, one of the highest daily death tolls reported in recent months.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle on Salah al-Din Street in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, August 2, 2026. (Ali Hassan\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

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 \u201ccarefully structured phases.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agreement stipulates that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the US-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), upon its arrival in the enclave. It\u2019s not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Eventually, armed groups are to hand over all weapons to NCAG, but the timeline for this has not been finalized.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians carry the bodies of people killed in an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 2, 2026. (Abed Rahim Khatib\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

The areas Israel controls in Gaza have been mostly destroyed and depopulated. Most of the territory\u2019s 2 million Palestinians are in the Hamas-held part, where hundreds of thousands live in squalid tent camps and destroyed neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Israel appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or make other concessions ahead of its October 27 elections. 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, with some seeking to establish settlements in the territory.<\/p>\n

While the heaviest fighting in Gaza has largely subsided, at least 1,230 people have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect in October 2025, according to the territory\u2019s Hamas-run health ministry. The toll does not differentiate between combatants and civilians and is not verified, though Israel has generally accepted Hamas\u2019s tally. Israel says its strikes respond to violations of the ceasefire or target operatives posing a threat.<\/p>\n

Gunmen have continued to carry out shooting attacks on Israeli troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to those and other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began.<\/p>\n

Times of Israel staff, agencies and Sam Sokol contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Israel faced growing criticism from the Board of Peace for its continued strikes on Gaza, despite Hamas\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[191279,49,112012,54,69,51,85,2894,46,43,132792],"class_list":["post-573818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-2023-2025-israel-hamas-war","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-board-of-peace","tag-donald-trump","tag-gaza-strip","tag-hamas","tag-il","tag-isaac-herzog","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-nickolay-mladenov"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}