TNA Staff
The New Arab / January 17, 2026
The Israeli army accuses Hamas of having a “firm grip” on parts of Gaza, warning that the group must disarm within two months under the ceasefire deal.
Israel has issued a “final warning” to Hamas, demanding that the Palestinian group disarm within two months, as the ceasefire deal moves into its second phase.
Israel’s Channel 12 cited unnamed sources as saying that Israel had delivered a “final warning to Hamas in the Gaza Strip”.
The second phase of the US-brokered October 2025 agreement outlines that Hamas and other militant groups in the Palestinian territory must disarm.
But Israel is also obliged to pull out its forces from Gaza, and there are concerns Tel Aviv will not respect the terms of the deal as its army continues to occupy more than half the enclave.
Israeli fire has also killed more than 460 Palestinians since 10 October.
A foreign-led “Board of Peace“, which includes Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will oversee the management of post-war Gaza and a Palestinian transitional government made up of technocrats were recently announced. These, along with the deployment of an international security force, are also part of the agreement’s second phase.
“From the moment the Peace Council and the technocratic government are formed, Hamas will be given two months to demilitarise the Strip,” Channel 12 cited sources as saying.
The channel said that “if Hamas does not disarm itself, the Israeli army will intervene”, claiming this was agreed upon between Israel and US President Donald Trump, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Trump administration.
An Israeli security source told the channel that the military “is already preparing plans in anticipation of Hamas failing to comply with the final warning”.
Israel and its main ally, the US, have repeatedly warned that they will use force to disarm the Palestinian group if it refuses to surrender its weapons.
But Washington is said to have grown increasingly frustrated with Tel Aviv for delaying the start of phase two; Israel had conditioned that the remains of its last captive still held in Gaza, and the disarmament of Hamas were necessary to proceed with the ceasefire deal.
All but the last captive and around 2,000 Palestinians were released in a swap deal under phase.
Hamas says it is still searching for the remains of the last captive among the Gaza rubble, blaming Israel for its ongoing demolitions and strikes.
According to the Channel 12 report, Israel’s security establishment estimates that Hamas “has suffered heavy losses during the fighting but remains far from being eliminated.”
It added that “the movement continues to maintain a firm grip on parts of the Strip, carries out operations on the ground, and continues to arm itself and bolster its capabilities, particularly in areas it still effectively controls.”
Political and security sources told the channel that “Israel insists that the disarmament of Hamas is not merely a declaratory goal, but a binding condition for any political or civilian progress in the Gaza Strip.”
The sources claimed that “Israel will retain full control over defining disarmament – the criteria, how it is verified, and what constitutes genuine dismantlement of weapons”.
They added: “Israel stresses that it will not accept partial disarmament or a symbolic step, and that there will be no withdrawal from the Yellow Line as long as Hamas retains military capabilities.”
The Yellow Line acts as a temporary redeployment boundary under the ceasefire plan. But the Israeli army has expanded the line inwards, taking more territory under its control.
The army has destroyed thousands of buildings since the ceasefire, wiping out entire neighbourhoods.
Some Israeli officials have openly called for the full annexation of the territory and the displacement of its some 2 million Palestinian inhabitants.
