Senior IDF officials pushing for new plan to demilitarize Hamas

The U.S. may relax its demand for Hamas disarmament to preserve the ceasefire.

By World Israel News Staff

Senior Israeli military officials are sounding the alarm over Hamas reasserting control across major areas of Gaza, warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet that the terror group has essentially resumed normal operations and is tightening its grip on the Strip.

Under the Trump-brokered ceasefire signed in October, Hamas is obligated to disarm and hand over authority to an alternative governing entity. However, the group has delayed any real steps toward complying with those terms.

Concerns have intensified amid reports that the Trump administration is considering dropping its demand that Hamas lay down its weapons in order to move forward to the next stage of the ceasefire agreement, which would focus on rehabilitating the Strip.

“It is impossible to ignore that Hamas is strengthening and rebuilding its capabilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel must develop an independent operational plan to demilitarize Gaza, because the American plan does not provide a solution,” senior military officials were quoted by Channel 13 as telling the cabinet.

According to the Hebrew-language report, 13 of the 25 Hamas-run municipalities in Gaza are now operating much as they did before the war sparked by the October 7 massacres.

Hamas is providing municipal services, setting up checkpoints, and acting as the sole authority in those areas, effectively restoring its prewar governance.

President Donald Trump has signaled that preserving the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is a major priority for his administration. Israeli officials fear that resuming large-scale fighting in Gaza would risk provoking a harsh response from Washington.

As Hamas regains control in the Strip, Israeli officials are also increasingly wary of escalation along the northern front. Hezbollah, like Hamas, has so far refused to disarm, despite pressure from the United States and even a resolution passed by the Lebanese government.

On Sunday, Israel carried out a rare airstrike in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh in southern Beirut, killing the group’s senior commander, Haytham Ali Tabatabai.