Gaza Herald – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly rejected a 15-point Gaza plan backed by the Trump administration, declaring that Israel will not withdraw from the territory unless Hamas first gives up all of its weapons. The move places the future of the ceasefire and any meaningful path toward ending Israel’s military control of Gaza in serious doubt.
The U.S.-backed framework proposed a phased process in which Hamas would surrender its weapons in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from large parts of Gaza currently under Israeli control. Netanyahu, however, told his cabinet that Israel was “ruling out” the document and insisted that no withdrawal would take place before what he described as “real disarmament.”
The rejection represents a major setback for efforts to move beyond the devastating war and toward a political settlement. It also raises questions about Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire agreement, which Palestinians say has already been repeatedly violated by ongoing Israeli attacks across Gaza.
According to Palestinian health officials cited in the report, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire began last October, including civilians and children. Heavy Israeli bombardment also intensified shortly after the new agreement was announced, killing at least 20 Palestinians over one weekend.
The plan also required Israel to fulfill outstanding obligations under the original ceasefire, including ending attacks. Yet Gaza has continued to face Israeli strikes, restrictions and destruction, while millions of Palestinians remain displaced and live amid devastated homes and collapsing infrastructure.
Hamas official Husam Badran said Netanyahu’s rejection demonstrates that Israel, not the Palestinian side, is blocking progress toward implementing the proposed framework. The disagreement highlights a central question facing Gaza: whether the ceasefire will lead to an end to Israeli military control and reconstruction, or remain another fragile arrangement while Palestinians continue to endure occupation, displacement and destruction.
For Palestinians in Gaza, the stakes are far greater than a diplomatic dispute between governments. Any genuine ceasefire must mean an end to the killing, an end to the siege, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, unrestricted humanitarian access and the right of Palestinians to rebuild their homes and lives. Netanyahu’s rejection risks prolonging a crisis in which Gaza’s civilians continue to pay the highest price.
