Netanyahu says Gaza reconstruction depends on Hamas disarmament

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will not begin unless Hamas is disarmed, reaffirming Israel’s position amid reports of differences with the United States over post-war plans for the territory.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Gaza’s reconstruction must be linked to the dismantling of Hamas’s military capabilities.

“There will be no reconstruction in Gaza without the disarmament of Hamas,” he said. His comments followed a report by the Israeli news outlet Ynet, which claimed the US administration had decided to drop Hamas’s disarmament as a precondition for reconstruction. Netanyahu did not directly deny the report but insisted that Israel’s position remains unchanged.

The Israeli prime minister also said Palestinians in Gaza who wish to leave the territory should be permitted to do so.

“Gazans must have freedom of choice: those who want to leave will be able to do so, and those who remain will not be allowed to threaten us,” Netanyahu said. He added that Israel intends to maintain buffer zones inside the Gaza Strip, describing them as part of a “new Gaza envelope.”

The remarks come as negotiations over the next phase of the US-backed Gaza plan remain stalled. The plan, announced earlier this year by the administration of US President Donald Trump, envisions the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian governing body, an international framework to oversee reconstruction and, according to previous proposals, the dismantling of Hamas’s military infrastructure.

The question of Hamas’s disarmament remains one of the principal obstacles to reaching an agreement.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued expanding the areas under its military control inside Gaza. According to a Reuters estimate published in late May, Israeli forces controlled approximately 64 percent of the Gaza Strip, compared with about 53 percent under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

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