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Israel has communicated significant security concerns to the White House about a proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official revealed. Doron Spielman, spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, stated that Israel's intelligence suggests Hamas intends to rebuild its military capabilities rather than genuinely disarm. This stance complicates efforts to end the ongoing conflict.

Spielman emphasized that Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed, warning that an early redeployment could allow Hamas to re-establish its infrastructure and pose renewed threats to Israeli communities. He defined disarmament as the physical relinquishing of weapons, nothing less. These comments follow Hamas's recent announcement that it would begin disarming as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan.

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Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack.

The U.S.-backed plan, announced by President Donald Trump, outlines a phased approach involving Hamas surrendering weapons, destroying tunnels, and Israeli forces withdrawing. It also envisions a new Palestinian government and the deployment of international security forces. However, Hamas's disarmament has been a major obstacle in negotiations for months. The agreement obtained by the Associated Press indicates that Hamas police weapons would transfer to a U.S.-backed Palestinian committee upon its arrival in Gaza, a timeline for which remains unclear. The process is linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal.

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Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less.