JERUSALEM—Israel's government is privately pressing President Donald Trump's administration to set a deadline for international troops to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to three Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Israeli leaders expect the International Stabilization Force to begin deploying to Gaza early next year as part of the second phase of Trump's peace plan for the strip, which began with an Oct. 10 ceasefire in the more than two-year-long Gaza war. But the leaders believe the force is unlikely to fulfill its mandate to disarm Hamas and are seeking a date from the Trump administration after which the Israeli military would be free to resume fighting the Palestinian terrorist group.
"We are pushing the United States for a deadline. So if the ISF doesn't do its job within two months, three months, whatever it is, then we will say, 'OK, enough. ISF, you go out or at least don't disturb us,' and then the IDF goes in," an Israeli official said, referring to the military by its initials.
Ohad Tal, a lawmaker from Israel's governing Religious Zionism party and a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Israel and the United States must agree to such a deadline based on an understanding that Hamas will not voluntarily give up its weapons and the ISF will not force the group to do so.
"Israel is prepared to allow the Trump administration to move forward with its phase two approach, but we will need to set a deadline if the ISF fails in its mission," he said. "Hamas must be disarmed. But Hamas will not give up its weapons voluntarily, and we are seriously doubtful that any international force would succeed at this. There is no alternative but to allow the IDF to finish the job in Gaza."
According to a senior Israeli official, "There will be a deadline, and when that deadline hits, either the ISF will disarm Hamas or the IDF will do it."
"We're giving it a chance. We obviously want this thing to work," he said of phase two. "But we have no illusions. We're not going to give this endless time."
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week voiced skepticism that the ISF could disarm Hamas, saying, "We know that there are certain missions that this force could do. There are certain things they can't do, maybe the main task they can't do, but we will see."
"We can do it the easy way, or the hard way," he said, hinting at the Israeli military option. "But in the end it will be done."
The Prime Minister's Office and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Under Trump's Gaza peace plan, the ISF will ensure the demilitarization of Gaza, enabling the Israeli military to withdraw and a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats backed by "Arab and international partners" to take over, rebuild, and deradicalize the strip. Israel, eight Arab and Muslim states, and the U.N. Security Council endorsed the framework. In the ongoing first phase, Hamas freed the remaining hostages held in Gaza—with the exception of the body of 27-year-old Israeli Ran Gvili, which the group claims it cannot locate—in exchange for Israel's release of Palestinian detainees.
But Hamas officials have refused to disarm or surrender power according to the terms of the plan, and the Trump administration has appeared reconciled to the group's refusals for now.
Trump's top Middle East envoys have indicated that the plan will at first be implemented only in the 53 percent of Gaza behind Israeli military lines, leaving Hamas in control of the other 47 percent where nearly all of the strip's some 2 million residents currently live. U.S. officials anonymously told Reuters last week that ISF troops will begin deploying to the Israeli-controlled half of Gaza as early as January. But they said it will take much of next year to get the ISF in place and the force will not fight Hamas.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff was to meet on Friday in Miami with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to discuss phase two of Trump's Gaza peace plan, Axios reported, saying the four countries "feel that both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the implementation of the second phase of the deal and are interested in maintaining the current status quo." Axios has previously reported that the White House is pressuring Netanyahu to do more to advance peace in Gaza, though Trump downplayed such reporting on Monday.
Kobi Michael, a former senior official in Israel's military intelligence and Strategic Affairs Ministry, said Trump appeared intent on maintaining the perception of progress toward peace in Gaza by restraining Israel and making concessions to Hamas and its allies, such as Qatar and Turkey.
"The ISF will not fight Hamas. The only entity on the entire globe that is willing and able to do that is the IDF," said Michael, expressing the Israeli consensus. "But I think President Trump is looking toward the Nobel Peace Prize of 2026, and mainly he wants to realize the economic and business potential here in the Middle East. I think he will do his utmost to ensure that nothing will interfere."
Michael predicted that as a result, the most likely of three possible scenarios for phase two of Trump's Gaza peace plan was that Hamas would rebuild its terror state in Gaza, claim victory, and set the stage for another bloody regional war.
"In the end, there will be no disarmament of Hamas. Hamas will strengthen itself, and at some point we will reach another clash. This will be a very difficult multi-front challenge for Israel, and this will be a disaster for the free world, because it will embolden the radicals among the Arabs and the Muslims here in the region and beyond."
In the two less likely scenarios, according to Michael, Trump would allow Israel to resume large-scale military operations against Hamas in the coming months. The states behind the plan would then either pull out or, under heavy pressure from Trump, continue with phase two alongside the renewed Israeli offensive. Michael said the final scenario would be best, giving Israel international help with civilian affairs in Gaza and creating a foundation for greater regional normalization.
"We are talking about opening the path to a new regional architecture," he said. "The Arab regimes that until today scapegoated Israel and exploited the Palestinian issue for domestic political purposes will have to take responsibility for the problem they created. This will lead to many new opportunities, opportunities that do not exist today."
Amir Avivi, a former senior Israeli military officer who is close to Israel's government, doubted any amount of pressure from Trump could meaningfully advance phase two before the military finished off Hamas. He confirmed that Israeli leaders were "insisting on a clear date" from the Americans for Hamas's disarmament and expressed confidence that "common sense" would prevail.
"Common sense says first, go and destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza, and then do all the rest," he said, referring to the phase two plan's goals of "demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and bringing in this new government."
Avivi argued that political logic also dictated the resumption of the war, noting that Israel's national elections must be held by Oct. 27, 2026, and the U.S. midterms are a week later.
"If Hamas remains in Gaza, Netanyahu is done [politically], and I don't think he wants to be done. I think both he and Trump want to sign a regional peace agreement before the elections," Avivi said, referring to mooted expansion of the Abraham Accords normalizing regional ties with Israel. "You can't move on to regional peace without first destroying Hamas. Again, it's common sense, and in this case, common sense will prevail."
Netanyahu has said he will discuss the ISF and other aspects of phase two with Trump during a Dec. 29 visit to the United States.
