Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally rejected the US-backed 15-point Gaza peace plan on August 9, 2026, insisting the IDF will not withdraw until Hamas undergoes complete disarmament of all weaponry [1][2][5]. The rejection came as rescue crews in Gaza City recovered 19 bodies, most of them women and children, from the rubble of a destroyed residential building [43]. The 15-point document, prepared by President Donald Trump's Board of Peace and previously endorsed by Hamas, outlines a ceasefire, a transitional Palestinian administration backed by an international stabilization force, and the handover of Hamas weapons under international supervision [10][23].
Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting that Israel rejects the document and will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, demanding "real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament" of all weaponry — heavy, light, and otherwise [2][11][14]. He described Trump as Israel's greatest friend in the White House but said Israel knows how to stand its ground even against its best friends when necessary [7][27]. A White House official warned that Trump would be "very, very disappointed" if Israel did not comply [11].
The core dispute centers on sequencing. Netanyahu insists disarmament must precede any IDF pullback [1][9][32]. Hamas, however, conditions the handover of heavy weapons on Israel first halting all attacks and withdrawing to the "yellow line" defined in the October ceasefire agreement, reversing the sequence Netanyahu demands [11][15][23]. Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov clarified after meeting Netanyahu that Israel would not need to withdraw beyond the yellow line until disarmament steps are independently verified on the ground [5][9][11][16]. Mladenov defended the plan as "the only way forward" to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attack, describing it as verifiable and reversible at each stage [5][14][22].
Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said the group remains committed to the roadmap agreed in Cairo and called on mediators and the US guarantor to pressure Netanyahu to adhere to the agreement, accusing him of obstructing the process for internal political and electoral reasons [7][17][28]. Hamas's public affirmation of commitment to the plan stands alongside its reported condition that heavy-weapons surrender depends on a prior Israeli withdrawal, creating a mirror-image sequencing dispute with Netanyahu's position [10][19][21].
Netanyahu's rejection drew support from far-right coalition partners. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed the rejection, stating the military "cannot withdraw even a millimetre from the Gaza Strip" and recalling that the war's central goal was the destruction of Hamas [17][32]. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir dismissed the plan as unacceptable and called for a new cabinet vote to end it [5][21]. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said Hamas is growing stronger rapidly and that Israel must not budge from the red line until Hamas is disarmed [40].
Israeli opposition leaders offered a different posture, pledging a political safety net to back Trump's plan while simultaneously vowing to topple Netanyahu's government [39]. Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot warned the framework would leave Hamas in power, calling it the Netanyahu-Smotrich concept of preferring Hamas rule [40].
Analysts and unnamed US sources characterized Netanyahu's rejection as theater aimed at his right-wing base ahead of Israel's October 27 elections [7][12][16][32]. US sources cited by Israel's Channel 12 said they understood Netanyahu's political needs and had no problem as long as he continued halting attacks in Gaza [16]. Professor Stephen Zunes of the University of San Francisco assessed that Netanyahu may be betting Washington will buckle and could use international opposition to his advantage domestically [7]. French researcher David Rigoulet-Roze analyzed the rejection as a political message of defiance regarding the hypothetical disarmament of Hamas [22].
Beyond the disarmament dispute, Netanyahu reiterated his categorical rejection of Palestinian statehood, declaring that no Palestinian state will arise in Gaza or the West Bank as long as he is prime minister — "neither 'Fatahstan' nor 'Hamastan'" [1][11][20].
Palestinian factions outside Hamas also criticized the plan. Palestinian Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah described it as a recipe for continued aggression and a formula for igniting the region [47]. Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub rejected the plan's technocratic committee for Gaza, calling it an Israeli-designed mechanism for reinforcing Palestinian division [41]. Former senior Fatah figure Mohamed Dahlan said Hamas and other groups agreed to the plan but that its success depends on Israel's commitment to ending daily attacks, adding that US envoy Jared Kushner assured him he is working to halt the strikes [42]. Dahlan described Netanyahu's rejection as a show of "desdén" (disdain) toward Trump [12].
Civilian casualties continued to be documented. Gaza's Health Ministry reported total deaths since October 2023 at 73,386, with 1,258 killed since the October ceasefire [15]. Rescue crews recovering bodies from the destroyed Karam building in Gaza City worked with rudimentary tools amid a shortage of heavy machinery [43]. Unicef reported that Israel has killed an average of one child per day during the ten months of ceasefire [12]. Eight Arab and Muslim-majority foreign ministers jointly condemned Israel's continued violations, saying they threaten to derail the plan's second phase [12].
Separately, Israeli security agencies are reportedly considering a partial military withdrawal from parts of Gaza paired with deployment of an international stabilization force, according to Israel's Channel 12 [4]. This reported consideration contrasts with Netanyahu's public all-or-nothing rejection.
The rejection also fits within a broader US-Israel rift over the pace of de-escalation. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper conveyed Washington's desire to wind down fighting on three fronts — Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran — during a visit to Israel, while Israeli officials insist on preserving freedom to act independently, particularly against Iran [31]. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz instructed the military to prepare for a possible "blue-and-white" operation against Iran [36].
Discussions between Israel and the US on the plan's terms are ongoing, with Netanyahu acknowledging that some American ideas are acceptable and others are not [2][35]. Mladenov said follow-up discussions continue and expressed hope for a positive outcome [44].