Israel rejects Donald Trump's Peace Plan

Israel has rejected United States President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring on Sunday that Israeli forces will not leave the territory until Hamas gives up its weapons in full.

"Israel rejects the 15-point document," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday, referring to the plan that Hamas had endorsed the previous month.

The Israeli army will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is truly disarmed, and will keep working to stop threats against its troops and the public, Netanyahu said. 

He added that Israel is in talks with the Americans, noting some of their ideas are acceptable while others are not, and that Israel knows how to hold firm on such matters. There has been no immediate response from the White House or Hamas.

Israel has kept up near-daily deadly attacks across Gaza since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas last October. Trump had announced on 30 July what he called a "historic" agreement covering the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, describing it as a major step toward lasting peace and security.

But last week, the US-led Board of Peace said an Israeli pull-out from Gaza would only happen after Hamas's disarmament was complete, following talks between the body's director, Nickolay Mladenov, and Netanyahu.

Speaking to his cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu vowed that no Palestinian state would arise as long as he remained prime minister, and stressed that Israel would not follow the US-backed plan. 

He said Israel wanted "real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament," meaning the removal of all weapons, including lighter ones. 

The 15-point plan calls for first tackling Hamas's heavy weapons, military production sites, weapons stores and the group's wide tunnel network.

Since the ceasefire began in mid-October last year, experts have voiced doubt that Israel would honour the deal, as its forces have kept pounding Gaza, killing hundreds of people. At least 1,250 people have been killed and 4,120 wounded since the ceasefire started, with more than 800 bodies recovered from rubble, according to Gaza's health ministry. 

The overall death toll in Gaza since October 2023 stands at least 73,300, with 174,000 wounded.