WASHINGTON (TNND) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza until after Hamas completely disarms and pushed back on the deal President Trump announced with the terrorist group.
The deal called for Hamas to begin disarming and for Israel to stop its strikes and begin withdrawing from the roughly 60% of Gaza it currently controls, The Associated Press reported. The agreement was based on an October ceasefire deal that ended major military operations and saw the remaining hostages held in Gaza released, but it stalled on other fronts.
Netanyahu, who has a tough reelection fight in October, reaffirmed his stance on Tuesday that disarmament should come first. He said the Israel Defense Forces would continue to “do whatever is necessary to protect themselves, our territory, and our citizens.”
The Trump administration “sent us a draft. We did not agree. It is not our draft. We sent our comments. This is our position,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media.
On Thursday, Trump announced the deal that the Board of Peace reached with Hamas on disarmament.
“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”
On Friday, Hamas confirmed that it had agreed to the deal.