Amid growing ceasefire violations by Hamas, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is working on plans for a possible military operation to disarm the Gaza-based terrorist group, The Times of Israel reported exclusively.
The news comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to Washington for a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss issues concerning Gaza and Iran, media reports suggest.
On Sunday, Hamas’s chief Khaled Mashaal declared that the terrorist group won’t be handing over its weapons, thereby violating a key condition under the ceasefire deal brokered by President Donald Trump.
“As part of the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, the Gaza Strip is to be demilitarized,” the Jerusalem Post noted recently. “Hamas is supposed to hand over control of Gaza to an agreed-upon National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.”
The Times of Israel revealed the details of a possible IDF operation:
Four months into a ceasefire with Hamas, the Israeli military is drawing up plans for a renewed offensive in the Gaza Strip to disarm the terror group by force, The Times of Israel has learned.The US-brokered ceasefire plan reached in October foresees the demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas, along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip. However, implementation of the plan has remained unclear, with Israeli officials increasingly believing that stripping Hamas of its weapons will be impossible without the Israel Defense Forces taking action.Should hostilities renew, fighting is liable to be more intense and more widespread than previous rounds, as Israeli forces will no longer constrained by the presence of hostages on Gazan soil.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have both insisted that the terror group must give up its weapons in the near future. Trump has repeatedly asserted that Hamas “promised” to lay down its arms, and has threatened the group over the issue.However, at least publicly, Hamas has never agreed to lay down its arms.Israel also believes that left unchecked, the terror group will remain in power in the Strip and try to rebuild its militarily strength while tightening its grip on areas under its control. The military this month said that since the start of the ceasefire, Hamas “has violated the agreement and focused its efforts on restoring its military capabilities.”Last month, a senior Israeli security official said that it was looking increasingly likely that the Israel Defense Forces would have to act militarily against Hamas to disarm it, as the military believed the terrorist organization will not do so of its own accord.
President Trump has made no secret of his determination to demilitarize terrorist-infested Gaza. Last month, he repeated his call for Hamas terrorists to disarm, saying that “they could do it the easy way, or the hard way.”
“Hamas must IMMEDIATELY honor its commitments, including the return of the final body to Israel, and proceed without delay to full Demilitarization,” he wrote on Truth Social. “As I have said before, they can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”
Under his 20-point plan, the president has floated the idea of disarming the Gaza-based terrorist groups through a peacekeeping force comprising Muslim and Arab militaries. However, it is unlikely that troops from Hamas-sympathizing countries, such as Turkey and Pakistan, could be relied upon to undertake the task.
Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists continue to mount almost daily attacks on Israeli troops securing the ceasefire line.
The IDF, in a statement on Tuesday, flagged Hamas’s another “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” During the incident, “terrorists exited an underground tunnel shaft in eastern Rafah and fired toward IDF troops, the IDF.”
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