US President Donald Trump announced last month a "monumental step" toward peace in Gaza, with his Board of Peace reaching an agreement with Hamas to lay down its weapons. Trump also stated that Israel was "very happy" about the US-backed plan. However, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, soon expressed serious reservations.

Following the announcement, some of the deadliest Israeli attacks on Gaza in months occurred. On Sunday, August 10th, 2026, Netanyahu outright rejected the 15-point peace plan, stating at a cabinet meeting that Israeli forces would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas was "genuinely disarmed."

Under the proposed peace deal, Board of Peace officials said Hamas and other militant groups would lay down their arms. Hamas, however, conditioned disarmament on Israel stopping attacks on Gaza and withdrawing its forces to the Yellow Line—the original boundary inside Gaza controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) under the October 2025 ceasefire deal.

Yossi Kuperwasser, a brigadier general in the IDF reserves and director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told ABC that "Leaving Hamas with the ability to rearm themselves within a couple of minutes is extremely dangerous because at the end of the day Hamas has not changed."

Mkhaimar Abusada, associate professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, noted that Israelis estimate between 50,000 to 60,000 pieces of light weapons remain in Gaza, held by Hamas, other Palestinian factions, and families and clans.

Abusada also highlighted the significance of Hamas publicly agreeing to disarm and hand over weapons to the Palestinian committee for Gaza's administration, calling it "a very big development."

The rejection of the plan reflects ongoing security concerns and political complexities ahead of an Israeli election.

Sources

ABC Australia News