Benjamin Netanyahu Insists No Agreement Yet on Gaza Disarmament Draft

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made his first public statement since US President Donald Trump called off a major strike on Iranian targets and announced a disarmament deal with Hamas. In a brief video message also posted to his personal social media accounts, Netanyahu made no mention of Iran, focusing solely on the Gaza issue. The Israeli leader is currently under pressure from the White House to agree to a full ceasefire and support Hamas commitments.

Netanyahu’s statement was aimed directly at voters in Israel ahead of general elections at the end of October. He sought to downplay the impact of US efforts to arrange the initial stages of Hamas disarmament in Gaza, which would be accompanied by a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops and a halt to airstrikes.

An Israeli source told CNN that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) can now only operate in Gaza to counter direct threats. Furthermore, targeted killings now require direct approval from the chief of staff. Previously, strikes against individuals deemed a threat to Israel could be authorised at a lower level, by the head of the IDF’s Southern Command.

Trump had earlier announced Hamas’s commitment to disarm via a post on Truth Social on Thursday evening. That announcement was followed by a three-day surge in Israeli attacks on Gaza that killed at least 28 people, the highest death toll in several weeks.

Two senior envoys from Trump’s Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov and Aryeh Lightfoot, urged Netanyahu to change his position during a meeting in Jerusalem on Monday. Since that meeting, only one Israeli strike on Gaza has been reported, killing two people.

In his message on Tuesday, Netanyahu attempted to reassure Israeli voters that Trump’s latest push on Gaza is far from a done deal. ‘President Trump and his team believe they can achieve the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza,’ Netanyahu said. ‘They have sent us a draft. We have not agreed to anything. … We have sent them our response.’