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Netanyahu rejects 15-point plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected US President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, saying “Israel rejects the 15-point document.”
“Israel rejects the 15-point document”
Netanyahu said Israel’s army “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed,” tying any pull-back to Hamas giving up its weapons before Israel withdraws.
The BBC reported that Hamas told it on Sunday the group “reaffirms it commitment” to the agreement and was ready “to engage seriously and responsibly in implementing” the 15-point plan.
The dispute is set against a broader timeline in which Trump’s Board of Peace proposed a phased, conditional framework for disarmament and reconstruction, while Hamas said handing over heavy weapons was contingent on Israel ending “all forms of aggression” and withdrawing its forces from Gaza.
The BBC also placed the rejection in the context of displacement in Gaza, citing that “about 1.9 million people - 90% of Gaza's population - have been displaced” since the war began.
Hamas, mediators, and elections
Hamas official Bassem Naim told Reuters on Sunday that the group remained committed to the roadmap agreed with mediators in Cairo 10 days ago and said, “We expect the mediators and the U.S. guarantor to press Netanyahu and his government.”
Reuters also said Netanyahu was in campaign mode as he sought re-election at a vote due on October 27, while far-right ministers angered by concessions in Gaza pushed him to take a tougher stance.
In the same Reuters account, Bezalel Smotrich praised Netanyahu and said, “The (military) cannot withdraw even a milimetre from the Gaza Strip.”
Al Jazeera framed the moment as a question of “What now as Israel rejects Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza?” and reported that Israeli rejection put the sequencing of disarmament and withdrawal “into serious question.”
Al Jazeera added that Hamas hinges its compliance on an end to Israel’s “genocidal actions,” while the Board of Peace said an Israeli withdrawal would only take place after Hamas disarmament is complete.
What comes next in Gaza
The Reuters report said Israel scaled back attacks in Gaza since Monday, when Nikolay Mladenov, the Gaza envoy for Trump’s Board of Peace, met with Netanyahu, and Israel agreed the military would only act against immediate threats and no longer carry out targeted assassinations.
“more than 1,250 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks”
Reuters also said more than 1,250 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks since the ceasefire, “most of them civilians,” according to Gaza health officials, while Hamas has not disclosed the number of its fighters killed.
Al Jazeera described the 15-point roadmap as requiring Hamas disarmament in exchange for a full Israeli military withdrawal and a transition of governance to an independent Palestinian National Committee supported by an international security force.
Al Jazeera reported that the Board of Peace earlier this week said an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will only take place after the disarmament of Hamas is complete, and it said Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza since agreeing to an initial ceasefire last October.
In the BBC’s framing, Netanyahu’s rejection signaled another blow for Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which included the creation of the Board of Peace to oversee implementation, disarmament of Hamas, withdrawal of Israeli troops, and reconstruction of Gaza.
