Israel conveys ‘concerns’ to US on Gaza plan, keeps up strikes on territory

• Israel has expressed concerns to the US about the Gaza plan, stating it does not reflect Israel's positions and doubts Hamas's commitment to disarmament.
• Hamas claims to agree on disarmament, but Israel's intelligence reports ongoing rearming and recruitment by Hamas since the ceasefire.
• Israel insists on full, verifiable demilitarisation before withdrawing forces, continuing strikes that killed at least 13 Palestinians after Hamas's announcement.

JERUSALEM – Israel said on Aug 3 it had expressed concern to the US about a plan to end the Gaza war hailed by President Donald Trump, as it kept up strikes on the Palestinian territory.

It marks the latest sign of disconnect between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election fight in October and has heavily promoted his relationship with the US leader, whom he met again last week.

Netanyahu’s office demanded more concrete disarmament by Hamas, which on July 31 announced it would give up weapons under the Trump plan to a nascent Palestinian governing committee.

“Israel has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts. The version that has been made public does not reflect Israel’s positions,” Doron Spielman, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, told AFP.

He said Israeli intelligence had found that Hamas had been rearming and recruiting forces since a ceasefire announced by Trump in October 2025.

The ceasefire has reduced the level of violence, but Israel still controls more than 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the truce, according to the Gaza authorities.

The Israeli military says it has lost five soldiers in Gaza over the same period, as well as one civilian contractor.

Trump called the disarmament move a “major milestone” in efforts to end the devastating war that started with the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

Trump told reporters on July 31 that Israel was “very happy” with the development, but Netanyahu has not spoken about it publicly.

But Netanyahu’s spokesman said Hamas’ actions showed it was preparing for “further Oct 7-style massacres” and noted that the plan released by Trump’s Board of Peace called for Gaza to be “a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours”.

“That vision stands in direct contrast to the current reality and to Hamas’ stated intentions. The indispensable first step towards any lasting arrangement is the genuine, verifiable and irreversible demilitarisation of Hamas,” he said.

“Anything short of full demilitarisation will leave Hamas with the capability to threaten Israel again.”

A road map released by the Board of Peace and dated July 30 called for Israel to complete “fully” and “without delay” commitments to cease military operations in Gaza.

The road map called for the verification of commitments and a “phased withdrawal” from Gaza by Israel, which has insisted on its presence until Hamas disarmament.

A security official in Gaza said that Israeli strikes have killed 19 Palestinians, including women and children, since early on Aug 2.

The Palestinian authorities also said that an Israeli strike on Aug 1 destroyed a large number of medical supplies.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure to conceal weapons and fighters and said it had destroyed arms depots across Gaza.

The Israeli military also identified two people it said it killed on Aug 1, charging that they were planning attacks on Israeli civilians and troops.

Mohammad Dahlan, a senior Palestinian political figure who has played a key role in the Gaza plan, said after the Board of Peace road map that he had spoken to Trump’s son-in-law and aide Jared Kushner who told him that Israel would end strikes in Gaza with effect from Aug 2.

Dahlan later quickly revised his social media post, saying that Kushner was “working with the Israeli side to halt the attacks” in Gaza.

He later accused Netanyahu of working “to obstruct the most promising opportunity to begin ending this war”.

Gaza is not the only point of divergence between Trump and Netanyahu. Israel has also been sceptical of Trump’s pursuit of diplomacy to end the war on Iran launched by the two countries in late February.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, offered a more upbeat take on Trump’s Gaza efforts, saying they “bring a certain vision of hope”.

The latest development marks “a very positive step with the clear caveat and undertaking that Hamas must be disarmed”, he said as he received foreign ambassadors. AFP