Israel says it has concerns with Hamas disarmament deal as it keeps up Gaza strikes

Israel says it has shared concerns with the United States about the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, raising new doubts about the agreement touted by President Donald Trump. “Israel has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts. The version that has been made public does not reflect Israel’s position,” Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, said in comments sent to NBC News. The comments — the first clear public reaction from Netanyahu’s office — follow a deadly weekend in the Gaza Strip. At least 19 people were killed in Israeli attacks Sunday, according to the local Health Ministry. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hamas militants and infrastructure. It’s the latest sign of tension between Trump and Netanyahu, who faces a difficult re-election battle in October. The two leaders met last week, days before the disarmament deal was unveiled. Spielman said the “indispensable first step” toward any lasting arrangement is the “genuine, verifiable, and irreversible demilitarization of Hamas,” which Spielman said meant the group physically surrendering its weapons. Hamas has indicated that while it agreed to disarm, this was conditional on Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and complete cessation of “all forms of aggression.” “Over the past eight months, according to Israeli intelligence, Hamas has used the ceasefire to rearm, recruit thousands of additional terrorists, rebuild its military infrastructure, and prepare for further October 7-style massacres,” Spielman said, referring to the Hamas-led assault on Israel in 2023. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on the Israeli concerns. Trump said Friday he had “an understanding” with Israel, which he said was “very happy” about the Hamas disarmament agreement. Trump’s announcement of the deal last week raised cautious hopes of progress in advancing the peace settlement secured by the U.S. last year. But regional observers told NBC News any deal was unlikely to yield any immediate change in Gaza, with many hurdles remaining as both Hamas and Israel appear to be in no rush to accede to the agreement or even to sign on to it officially. Meanwhile, Israel has continued strikes despite the ceasefire. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday that 19 people had been killed and 35 injured in Gaza in the past 24 hours. A day earlier, it said seven people had been killed in the previous 24 hours, taking the weekend total to at least 26. The numbers were increasing every hour due to ongoing Israeli attacks including on homes and vehicles, Dr. Muneer al-Bursh, director of the Health Ministry in Gaza, told NBC News. “Hospitals are suffering from the pressure of these continuous attacks amidst a severe shortage of medical supplies,” he added. More than 73,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry, since Israel launched a military offensive in the enclave after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began last October, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the ministry. At least four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the truce began, according to Reuters. The Israeli military said in several statement Sunday that it eliminated Hamas or Hamas-aligned militants in Gaza in recent days, including a Hamas commander it said had infiltrated an Israeli kibbutz Oct. 7. And Saturday, the Israeli military said it struck several areas across the Gaza Strip, dismantling what it said were five Hamas weapons storage facilities. Nickolay Mladenov, the director-general of Trump’s Board of Peace that’s overseeing the peace process, said in a post on X the two days of strikes across Gaza “have killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on.” The strikes come after “intense efforts” by the Board of Peace and mediators in the region to bring the Palestinian factions in Gaza to agree to a roadmap on the full implementation of Trump’s plan, Mladenov said. “Achieving a lasting peace is hard but achievable if everyone make their best efforts,” he added.