The President announced a “historic” deal to disarm Hamas as part of the latest framework of a peace plan first announced in October 2025. Yet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly accepted it as Gaza mourns those lost over the weekend and 112 citizens who were killed in a 2023 airstrike.
The framework of a Gaza peace deal announced by President Donald Trump has yet to be endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is already being tested.
Despite a call to halt military attacks, Israeli airstrikes over the weekend killed at least 28 people in Gaza, according to local officials. The death toll marks the most fraught period of violence in the region in weeks.
On Tuesday, citizens in Gaza held a mass funeral for 112 people who were killed in a 2023 Israeli airstrike. The funeral is believed to be among the biggest of its kind in the region, according to the BBC.
International mediators continue to push for the implementation of the peace deal, yet Trump administration officials continue to express concern that the renewed strikes by Israel could jeopardize diplomatic efforts. Trump’s Board of Peace chief envoy Nickolay Mladenov said the violence killed civilians, damaged medical supplies and undermined negotiations.
“Achieving a lasting peace is hard but achievable if everyone make their best efforts,” he wrote on Twitter on Sunday. On Monday, he revealed that the “hard phase” had begun during his talks with Netanyahu, calling the process “slow” and “grinding.”
Although the meeting with Netanyahu was “constructive and detailed” according to a Board of Peace readout, an Israeli official reiterated afterward that the country would not withdraw from its present military positions in Gaza and will not end operations it considers necessary to protect Israeli civilians and soldiers. Hamas had agreed to disarm only if Israel returned forces to the proposed ceasefire lines that were agreed on last October.
Members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition in Israel have openly urged the embattled leader to reject the agreement deal ahead of October’s elections in the country. A source close to Netanyahu told CNN that he is skeptical that Hamas will adhere to the terms of the agreement and disarm, and instead will use the time to stave off another military attack.
“He is wary of confronting Trump directly and is instead hoping Hamas fails to comply – a scenario which he hopes will grant Israel legitimacy for renewed military action,” the source said.