Netanyahu: New Gaza government possible only after Hamas is disarmed

Hamas still holds 60,000 Kalashnikovs and hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, Netanyahu told Fox News.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A new government in Gaza acceptable to Israel will only be possible if Hamas is fully disarmed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.

Asked by Special Report anchor Bret Baier whether he could envision “a government that Israel can live with in 2026,” Netanyahu replied bluntly, “No one is going to come in there if Hamas stays armed. They’ll put a bullet in the back of the head of anyone in a potential new government.”

“If we disarm Hamas — whether with an international force or by other means — then yes, I see a different future in Gaza,” he continued. “That’s the one remaining step. Everyone understands that. I think Hamas understands it, too, and that’s why they don’t want to do it.”

“The point here is not to negotiate with Hamas,” he added. “Their job is to vanish, stop, no more. And you know who wants it more than anyone else? The people of Gaza.”

Disarmament was also Netanyahu’s answer when Baier asked what was “so hard” about reaching Phase 2 of the American-brokered peace plan, which envisions a technocratic government without Hamas and the start of Gaza’s reconstruction after two years of war.

Phase 1 of the deal required Hamas to return all hostages — living and dead — from the 251 abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, in which nearly 1,200 people were massacred.

One body remains in Gaza: that of Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, whom Israeli officials believe is likely being held by Hamas ally and Iranian proxy Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hamas still has roughly 20,000 armed fighters, Netanyahu noted, along with an estimated 60,000 Kalashnikov rifles.

“You’ve got to take all these rifles away from them – and break up those terror tunnels that they have – still hundreds of kilometers of terror tunnels. Hamas refuses to do it,” he said.

Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s willingness to give” a chance” to the International Stabilization Force (ISF) that US President Donald Trump envisions to oversee demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, “because – as the president and I have said – if it could be done the easy way, fine. And if not, it’ll be done another way.”

The ISF has yet to materialize, as potential participating countries have so far declined to commit troops, especially since Hamas declared it would not surrender its weapons to any authority other than a recognized Palestinian state.

The prime minister also dismissed as “fake spins” reports that administration officials see him as the obstacle to advancing the peace plan and that he would try to convince the president to come over to his point of view.

“I didn’t have to convince the president to go anywhere, we saw eye to eye,” he said with a smile.

“He cut right to the chase. He said, ‘Look, skip all this stuff. The real thing is, you’ve got to get Hamas to disarm.’ He just banged the nail on the head.”