A senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office stresses to The Times of Israel that the war in Gaza is still “not over,” despite US President Donald Trump’s insistence earlier this week that it is, and a letter from the government to hostage families saying that the war had ended.
“We are still in the first phase,” says the official, referring to the ceasefire and hostage release deal. “We have to complete it. Without completing it, it’s not over.”
“Even Trump says it’s over — but he even said that Hamas needs to disarm, and if they won’t do it, ‘we’ll disarm them.'”
“We want to come to the end of this war,” continues the official. “No one wants to be in war. But we have to finish the war with the phases that are really defined in this plan.”
“Hamas will be disarmed,” promises the official.
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
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