Tel Aviv, AUG 20: Israel has made clear that reconstruction in Gaza will not begin until Hamas is fully disarmed, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Netanyahu’s office also denied reports that Israel had agreed to the deployment of international forces in Gaza, according to Israeli media.
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The comments come as efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s Gaza roadmap remain stalled despite what Trump described in late July as a “breakthrough” in the process.
Hamas says it has accepted the roadmap but has linked implementation to an Israeli withdrawal and an end to Israeli attacks. Israel, however, has refused to allow reconstruction to begin before Hamas is fully disarmed.
The Trump administration has separately informed Congress that it plans to allocate more than $206 million to support a proposed peacekeeping force in Gaza, marking the first major US funding commitment under its plan to rebuild the war-battered enclave.
In two notifications dated July 30, the US State Department told Congress it would provide $200 million for equipment, infrastructure, vehicles and operational costs for the proposed International Stabilization Force, according to Reuters.
An additional $6.3 million would be allocated to repurpose US armored vehicles in support of the force.
The State Department said the proposed force would lead security operations, support the disarmament process and help secure the delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials into Gaza. Its final structure remains under negotiation.
Trump previously established a “Board of Peace” to oversee his plan to end the war and rebuild Gaza. The roadmap also envisions an international force securing areas vacated by Israeli troops, training new Palestinian police units and supporting aid deliveries.
