by Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday that Hamas will be disarmed and the Gaza Strip fully demilitarized — declaring that if the international community fails to carry out that mission, Israel will act alone.
Speaking at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers’ graduation ceremony at the Bahad 1 base in southern Israel, Netanyahu said Israel “has more work” to do in Gaza and warned that any violations of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire would be met with “powerful attacks.”
“At the end of the day, Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized,” Netanyahu said. “If foreign troops do it, great. If they don’t do it, we will.”
The prime minister’s remarks come as Washington continues assembling a multinational force to oversee Gaza’s postwar demilitarization–one that Israel insists must exclude Turkey, despite U.S. efforts to include it.
U.S.-Backed Ceasefire Under Strain
The fragile truce, brokered by the Trump administration, has repeatedly unraveled amid Hamas attacks and Israeli retaliatory strikes.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces launched limited operations in Gaza after Hamas operatives killed an IDF reservist near Rafah.
Hamas has also delayed returning the remains of several Israeli hostages promised under the ceasefire. Two bodies were returned Thursday, with Israeli authorities working to confirm their identities.
“If Hamas continues to explicitly violate the ceasefire, it will suffer powerful attacks like it did two days ago and yesterday,” Netanyahu said. “We decide, and we act whenever necessary to remove immediate threats.”
IDF Leadership: “No Tolerance for Threats”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir echoed Netanyahu’s warning, telling new officers that Israel is ready to return to full-scale combat “on any front” if necessary.
“We will show no patience toward any threat that emerges,” Zamir said. “We will believe an enemy that declares its intention to harm us, and we will destroy it.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz added that “many challenges still lie ahead,” pledging to complete the destruction of Hamas’s tunnel networks and weapons infrastructure.
“The intensive fighting in the Gaza Strip is expected, indeed, to end,” Katz said, “but we will not stop until we realize the overarching goals before us: the demilitarization of Gaza and the dismantling of Hamas’s weapons.”
Dispute Over Turkish Participation
A key sticking point in U.S.-led negotiations is Turkey’s demand to join the international security mission in Gaza. Ankara’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly condemned Israel’s military campaign, comparing it to “Nazi Germany” and calling Hamas “freedom fighters.”
Israel has strongly objected to Turkey’s participation, citing Erdogan’s rhetoric and open support for Hamas. Still, Washington continues to press for Turkish inclusion, saying Ankara played a helpful role in ceasefire talks.
“The Turks were very helpful in getting the Gaza deal,” a U.S. official told Axios. “We are aware of the Israeli concerns and are working to create something both sides can accept.”
Meanwhile, an 81-member Turkish disaster response team has been waiting for Israeli permission to enter Gaza for over a week. The team, equipped with life-detection devices and trained dogs, remains stationed near the border.
Tensions Flare as Deadline Passes
According to U.S. and Israeli officials quoted by the Jerusalem Post, mediators warned Hamas to withdraw from areas behind the “Yellow Line” held by the IDF or face renewed military enforcement.
“Last night, Hamas was notified through Egypt and Qatar that they had 24 hours to evacuate their terrorists,” a U.S. official said. “That window expired at 8 p.m. local time, at which point Israel will enforce the ceasefire and engage Hamas targets.”
Human Toll and Ongoing Goals
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages. Israel says nearly all have now been returned except for 13 deceased.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims more than 66,000 Gazans have been killed or are missing since the start of the war, though the figure cannot be independently verified. Israel says over 22,000 Hamas fighters have been killed.
Israel continues to emphasize that it seeks to minimize civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of using homes, hospitals, and mosques as shields for its fighters.
As Netanyahu told the cadets, Israel’s mission remains unchanged: “We will not stop until Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarized, and all our hostages–living and fallen–are brought home.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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