With Netanyahu mum, ‘senior Israeli official’ reiterates opposition to disarmament plan approved by Hamas

Another statement has been issued to Israeli reporters by a “senior Israeli official” indicating Jerusalem’s opposition to the Trump-feted disarmament proposal that Hamas approved on Thursday.

“In response to various publications this morning about political progress in the Gaza Strip, Israel has reiterated that there will be no IDF withdrawal from the current Yellow Line without the genuine disarmament of Hamas,” the senior Israeli official says.

The “senior official” had issued a statement on Thursday that more explicitly rejected the Board of Peace’s disarmament proposal, asserting that it didn’t meet Israel’s demands for Hamas’s full disarmament, which the official said was a precondition for IDF withdrawal.

The official did not elaborate on Israel’s specific issues with the Board of Peace’s proposal for the gradual decommissioning of all of Hamas’s weapons.

The latest statement specifies that Israel won’t even withdraw from the current Yellow Line, let alone from the original one from the October 2025 ceasefire deal.

Israel expanded its control of Gaza from 53 percent to over 60%, in a violation of the ceasefire that the Board of Peace has apparently let slide as it sought to coax Hamas into accepting its disarmament proposal.

Now that Hamas has approved that offer, Israel is expected to pull its forces back to the original Yellow Line that roughly divided the Strip into eastern and western halves.

A Board of Peace official indicated that this withdrawal would have to take place in the coming days, in what will be one of the first tests of the agreement. Hamas has warned that it won’t proceed with the weapons handover if Israel doesn’t withdraw to the original Yellow Line.

But the statement from the anonymous Israeli official indicates that Jerusalem does not intend to comply.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly on Hamas’s acceptance of the disarmament proposal, which has been celebrated by the US.

A senior US official warned on Thursday that US President Donald Trump will be “very disappointed” if Israel blocks the advancement of Washington’s Gaza plan.