From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 31, 2026
Trump will be ‘very disappointed’ if Israel blocks advancement of his Gaza plan — US official
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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
A senior US official says President Donald Trump will be “very disappointed” if Israel doesn’t allow for the advancement of his 20-point plan for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The senior official makes the comments in a briefing with reporters about Hamas’s approval of the US-controlled Board of Peace’s disarmament plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said earlier Thursday that the proposal did not meet Israeli demands, indicating that Jerusalem would not allow it to advance.
“We’re not asking Israel to do anything that isn’t in the 20-point plan that they agreed to initially, and so we’re very confident they will adhere to it. If they don’t, President Trump would be very, very disappointed,” the senior US official warns.
“We just need them to to keep to the original agreement that got their hostages home and ended the war. Gaza was the biggest thorn in their side for many years,” the official continues. “With all of the different issues they have going on right now, this is not something they want to escalate as an issue right now.”
“We believe that they’ll continue to be a good partner in this and and comply,” the US official adds.
“Israel didn’t believe we’d get the the deal done to get the hostages out. They didn’t believe we’d get the bodies out. They’re very skeptical that Hamas will disarm… But Hamas did make a deal… and Hamas did come through by getting the bodies out and the hostages, so our intention is to hold Israel to its commitments as well and make sure we can be a fair broker.”
The US official also calls out Israel for objecting to including Qatar and Turkey in the Board of Peace.
“There was a lot of criticism, particularly in Israel, when we invited Turkey and Qatar to join the Board of Peace Gaza Executive Board, but they’ve been essential partners along with Egypt in helping keep this ceasefire together,” he says.
“Israel has its own craziness with their politics, and Palestinian aspirations are important. But we’re trying to put that to the side and constantly push forward,” the senior US official adds.
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