Israel rejects Trump’s Gaza deal, insists on disarmament of Hamas

Israel on Sunday rejected a deal announced by US President Donald Trump for Gaza. Details emerged on the potential deal between Iran and Oman on managing the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran suggested that vessels linked to “hostile countries” would be barred from the key waterway.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a government-held port on the country’s Red Sea coast, deepening fears over threats to strategic shipping routes and a potential return to civil war. They also said they attacked an oil facility in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the deal on Gaza announced by Trump last month, saying Israel’s military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely



disarmed.”

Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting that “Israel rejects the 15-point document” but is still discussing plans for Gaza with Washington, after making similar comments last week. Trump had said Israeli forces would withdraw as the Hamas militant group’s disarmament is completed. Israeli forces control over half the Palestinian enclave of about 2 million people, which has been largely destroyed.

“We remain committed to the road map,” said a member of the Hamas political bureau, Bassem Naim, adding that the group expects mediators and the US to pressure Netanyahu, who also faces domestic tensions as he struggles to hold onto power ahead of the next elections scheduled for Oct. 27.

The Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza. A fragile ceasefire continues.