Israel has rejected a U.S. backed proposal for ending the war in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israeli forces will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas gives up its weapons.
The rejection came as fighting and diplomatic tensions continued across the Middle East, including attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a government controlled port and a reported strike on an oil facility in Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu made his position clear Sunday during a Cabinet meeting, rejecting a 15 point proposal promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump for the future of Gaza.
“Israel rejects the 15 point document,” Netanyahu said.
He said the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas had been fully disarmed.
“The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed,” Netanyahu said. “And when I say Hamas must be disarmed, I mean the heavy weapons, the less heavy weapons, all weapons.”
Netanyahu said Israel was continuing discussions with Washington over the proposal but indicated that the two governments still disagreed on important elements of the plan.
“Some of them are acceptable to us and some are unacceptable to us,” he said.
The Israeli leader also said his government was prepared to resist pressure from even its closest allies when he believes Israel’s security is at stake.
“I have great appreciation for President Trump,” Netanyahu said. “He is a great friend of ours in the White House.”
Netanyahu said Israel would continue to oppose Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, regardless of whether a diplomatic agreement is reached.
“With an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not possess nuclear weapons,” he said.
The White House did not immediately issue a response to Netanyahu’s rejection.
The disagreement places another obstacle in the way of efforts to establish a postwar arrangement for Gaza. Hamas has indicated support for the broader roadmap but has avoided explicitly accepting language requiring it to surrender its weapons.
Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hamas could use the negotiations to prevent a renewed Israeli military offensive without actually giving up its military capabilities.
The Times of Israel reported that Israeli officials have described Hamas’ position as a possible attempt to delay or prevent further military action.
Israel’s security Cabinet previously approved the entry of an international force into Gaza to help disarm Hamas and assume security responsibilities in the territory.
But Israeli ministers have continued to press Netanyahu to reject any arrangement that would require Israeli troops to withdraw before Hamas is dismantled.
Far right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed Netanyahu’s position.
“We went to war with a central goal: the destruction of Hamas,” Smotrich said.
He said Gaza should not begin reconstruction until Hamas has been completely dismantled and disarmed.
Former senior Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan took the opposite view, accusing Netanyahu of challenging the Trump administration.
Dahlan said Netanyahu’s decision represented a rejection of the American effort to establish a political and security framework for Gaza.
He said mediators increasingly viewed Netanyahu as an obstacle to reaching a broader settlement.
Dahlan has been involved in discussions over the future administration of Gaza and has been consulted by Trump envoy Jared Kushner, according to The Times of Israel.
The dispute comes as the fragile ceasefire that followed the Hamas led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, remains under strain.
That attack triggered the war in Gaza, which has devastated much of the territory and displaced large numbers of Palestinians.
Israel currently controls more than half of Gaza, according to the supplied reports, leaving any Israeli withdrawal a central issue in negotiations over the territory’s future.
Elsewhere in the region, Yemen’s Iranian backed Houthi rebels attacked the government controlled port city of Mocha on Sunday night.
It was the second attack on the Red Sea port in less than a day.
A Houthi military source said the group targeted weapons storage sites and Saudi military personnel.
The Yemeni government said residential areas were also struck by missiles and drones. Its forces said some of the incoming drones were intercepted.
The earlier attack killed at least seven people, including four government aligned troops and three civilians, while 15 civilians were wounded, the National Resistance Forces said.
The strikes also damaged port facilities, including buildings, piers and commercial supplies, said Fayed al Noman, an official in Yemen’s information ministry.
Mocha is controlled by Yemen’s internationally recognized government and has been developed as an alternative shipping point to the Houthi controlled port of Hodeida.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree also said the group attacked an oil facility operated by Aramco in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi authorities confirmed that a fire occurred at a facility connected to the Aramco refinery but said there were no casualties. They did not immediately identify the cause of the fire.
The attacks have raised fresh concerns about the stability of Yemen’s long running conflict and the security of shipping routes around the Red Sea.
The fighting also comes against the backdrop of wider regional tensions involving Israel, Iran and their respective allies.
The Houthi movement has received support from Iran and has previously used missiles and drones against regional targets. Its attacks have also threatened commercial shipping through one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
The latest violence could make efforts to prevent a return to full scale conflict in Yemen more difficult.
Netanyahu also addressed Israel’s military activity in Lebanon, saying Israeli forces had carried out operations against militants there in recent days.
He did not provide details, saying the operation remained sensitive.
“The security of all Israel’s citizens is not up for negotiation,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister also rejected the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza or the West Bank, adding another major obstacle to any broader political settlement.
The immediate dispute over the Gaza proposal is likely to focus on the sequencing of Hamas disarmament and an Israeli military withdrawal.
Trump’s plan calls for Hamas to surrender its weapons while Israeli forces withdraw as the disarmament process advances. Netanyahu’s position is that withdrawal cannot begin until Hamas has been genuinely disarmed.
That difference could determine whether the proposed framework moves toward implementation or becomes another failed diplomatic initiative.
For now, Israel and the United States remain engaged in discussions, but Netanyahu’s public rejection makes clear that Washington has not secured Israeli agreement to the proposed Gaza roadmap.
The continued fighting in Yemen and the unresolved disputes involving Iran, Israel and regional allies add further pressure to an already unstable Middle East.
