Israel Weighs Military Return to Gaza

Israel summoned cabinet ministers to an emergency session Sunday to consider resuming military operations in Gaza, after negotiations on the next phase of a regional peace plan hit a wall. A senior Israeli official told Kan News Friday night: "Hamas is not standing by the disarmament agreement. We are currently holding discussions with the mediators."

The breakdown came Saturday morning when Hamas submitted its response to a framework drafted by Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the Peace Council. According to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, the response included substantial amendments that frustrated the diplomatic process and left Egyptian officials visibly taken aback.

What Hamas demanded

Hamas called for Israel to "fully and immediately" meet its commitments under the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement before any Phase B talks could begin. It also conditioned any discussion of its own disarmament on recognition of Palestinian political rights and the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state, explicitly rejecting Israel's demand to link weapons handover to an IDF withdrawal and Gaza reconstruction.

The response triggered an abrupt end to the Cairo talks. Mladenov left the Egyptian capital shortly after receiving the document, and the Hamas delegation is expected to follow, with members citing upcoming internal elections for the group's political bureau.

The collapse adds to a string of recent setbacks. Israel's political leadership had already blocked a scheduled field tour in Gaza by the Trump Peace Plan's proposed multinational force. Israeli officials maintain they will not advance the process without concrete moves toward Hamas disarmament and the formation of a technocratic government in Gaza.

With the cabinet convening Sunday, the future of the fragile ceasefire, and the broader peace framework, now rests on what Israel decides to do next.