Hamas is ready “to take the ‘Hezbollah model’ and let someone else take care of the ruins they left behind in the Gaza strip,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday.
In the video shared by Sa’ar on X/Twitter, he explained that he does not think Hamas is ready to disarm or willingly end the violence in Gaza and its war against Israel.
“If they will be ready to disarm,” Sa’ar said, “that would be a huge thing that could change the entire equation.”
However, he asserted that Hamas “wants to continue to be the most powerful military force in the Gaza Strip in order to continue the war against Israel.”
ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman pressed Sa’ar, asking, “And you’re saying this is something Israel will not accept?”
“No, this is totally unacceptable,” Sa’ar responded. “Because for us, we will not be able to guarantee our security without this disarmament of Gaza Strip, of Hamas, of Islamic Jihad.”
This interview took place as US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff landed in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday to join Egyptian and Qatari mediators in negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a potential new hostage and ceasefire deal.
Pressure on Hamas
According to a recent article from The Jerusalem Post, Israel has drafted a step-by-step plan to escalate pressure on Hamas if the terrorist group does not release the remaining hostages, Israeli security analysts told The Wall Street Journal.
The plan includes cutting off essential supplies, launching airstrikes, forcing Gazans who have returned to the north to evacuate again, and ultimately reentering the Gaza Strip if a deal is not reached.
Israeli security analysts further explained to the WSJ that if economic and infrastructure pressures fail, Israel may escalate to targeted airstrikes and special forces raids against Hamas leadership and military positions, the Post reported.
Ultimately, Israeli forces may launch a full-scale military operation, deploying more troops than in previous conflicts with the objective of holding ground and effectively dismantling Hamas’s remaining military infrastructure. The Post added that sources familiar with the plan described this as the most extensive operation to date.
Jesus Christ is King
