Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the Peace Council, established as part of President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, that he rejected a ceasefire and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu conveyed this message during a meeting with Peace Council President Nikolay Mladenov.
Yisrael Hayom reported that Netanyahu told Mladenov Israel would not withdraw from military points in Gaza and would not declare a ceasefire. Netanyahu further claimed that Hamas was rebuilding its military capacity and posed a direct threat to Israel.
On Friday, the Peace Council had published a document titled 'Roadmap for Completing the Implementation of President Donald Trump's Comprehensive Gaza Peace Plan.' The Israeli National Security Council had earlier stated that it had conveyed all of Netanyahu's reservations to the Peace Council and Trump's team.
Israeli state television KAN announced on Monday evening that the military had set three red lines regarding the 15-article agreement. The army's first demand is 'complete freedom of movement' to eliminate threats from Gaza. The second demand is for external oversight of weapons in Gaza. The most critical demand is to oppose any partial or phased withdrawal unless Hamas is fully disarmed.
The Peace Council had stated early Monday that the Israeli military's full withdrawal from Gaza would only take place after Hamas commits to a weapons destruction process. This statement came after Mladenov's meeting with Netanyahu and contradicts the eighth article of the agreement document.
Other claims about the deal's details also emerged in Israeli media. Channel 13 reported that there was 'shock' in the Prime Minister's Office. Channel 12 announced that the Israeli military had not carried out airstrikes on Gaza for 26 hours, amid tensions with the US. Unnamed Israeli officials who spoke to the same channel said that attacks would continue as long as Hamas remains armed.
Channel 12 also reported that Peace Council High Representative Mladenov and US official Aryeh Lichtstone had asked Netanyahu to halt attacks on Gaza.
With US support, Israel killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 174,000 others in the genocidal war it launched in Gaza on October 8, 2023. The majority of the dead and wounded are children and women, and 90 percent of the infrastructure has been destroyed.
