IDF will remain in Gaza until Hamas disarms – Netanyahu

The video was published on his page in X.

Netanyahu issued a statement after the ceasefire agreement came into force.

He noted that he knew that if Israel invaded Hamas's last remaining stronghold, Gaza, in full force and destroyed its centers of power, Hamas “would want to save its regime.”

Netanyahu said he also believed that if, in addition to military pressure, massive diplomatic pressure was applied by US President Donald Trump, it would force Hamas to return all captured Israeli hostages, while the IDF would remain deep inside the Gaza Strip and control all its dominant points.

“And this is exactly what is happening,” the Israeli prime minister emphasized. “Thus, we are surrounding Hamas on all sides, ahead of the upcoming stages of the plan, during which Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized. If this can be done the easy way, so much the better. And if not, it will be done the hard way.”

The head of the Israeli government added that all hostages will return within the next few days, “if it is God’s will.”

Context

Since October 2023, Israel has been waging war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas in response to its attacks on the country, killing civilians and taking hostages.

After lengthy negotiations, the parties reached a ceasefire agreement on January 15, 2025, but hostilities soon resumed.

On September 29, during a meeting in the White House between Trump and Netanyahu, the American plan of action to end the war was presented; it contains 20 points, and Israel agreed to it.

On October 3, Trump delivered an ultimatum to Hamas: either the group will agree to the demands of a potential peace agreement, which Israel has already agreed to, by the evening of October 5, or it will feel “real hell.”

In its official response to Trump's plan, Hamas announced its readiness to release the remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. However, the group submitted a request for negotiations on many details.

On October 9, it became known about preparations for the implementation of the agreement regarding the future of the Gaza Strip.

According to Netanyahu, before Trump's second arrival in the White House, Israel managed to free 158 hostages, 117 of them alive. Since Trump took office as US president, Israel has returned home 49 more living and dead Hamas hostages, the Israeli prime minister added. “But the most difficult task remained the return home of all the remaining hostages, 20 living and 28 dead,” Netanyahu said in a video message on October 10.