Israel has conveyed “serious security concerns” to the White House over the agreement to disarm the Hamas terrorist organization, an Israeli official told the Associated Press on Sunday.
Doron Spielman, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, told AP that Jerusalem’s intelligence assessment was that Hamas remained committed to rebuilding its military capabilities, and that the Israel Defense Forces would not withdraw from Gaza until the terrorist group was disarmed.
“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, in reference to the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 people in the Jewish state.
“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” Spielman added.
The remarks were the first public comments by an Israeli official since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the deal, part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement signed nine months ago that ended the nearly three-year conflict.
Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on behalf of Trump’s Board of Peace, which oversees implementation of the ceasefire, said on Sunday that his team was working “around the clock” toward de-escalation and the full implementation of the peace plan.
“Two days of strikes across Gaza have killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on,” he claimed, in reference to the IDF’s ongoing attacks on Hamas targets in the Strip.
“Both parties carry obligations under the Comprehensive Plan and the Sharm El Sheikh deal that secured the release of all hostages,” said Mladenov. “Achieving a lasting peace is hard but achievable if everyone makes their best efforts.”
Trump announced on Thursday that the Board of Peace reached an agreement with Hamas for the complete disarmament of the terrorist groups that rule and control the Gaza Strip.
It was a “major milestone in the implementation” of his 20-point plan to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war and begin the recovery process in the enclave, he said.
The pact will be implemented in phases, as the Israel Defense Forces withdraws as disarmament progresses, according to Trump.
An International Stabilization Force under the auspices of the Board of Peace is to work in tandem with a newly built Palestinian police force to provide security.
