Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Trump's Board of Peace plan for Gaza

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Netanyahu said his military will not make "any withdrawal" from the Palestinian territory until Hamas fully disarms.

Speaking in Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, he vowed that as long as he is prime minister, there would be no Palestinian state in Gaza or the West Bank.

Since the ceasefire agreement last October, 1,200 people, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israeli strikes, Palestinian officials say.

Just last month, Donald Trump said there had been a breakthrough in his ​plan to end ⁠the war, which ⁠both Israel and Hamas agreed to in 2025 and originally began with a ceasefire.

The US President ⁠said Hamas had ​agreed to lay down its weapons, and added that the deal will pave the way for the establishment of a "new Palestinian government".

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Netanyahu said: "The existence of Israel and the security of all Israeli citizens is non-negotiable. We stand firm on these interests. We don't do it in advertising offices, we really do it on the ground.

"We proved it all the time when we entered Rafah, and on the Philadelphia axis, when we entered Lebanon and eliminated Nasrallah and the rocket depot there, when we attacked Iran twice.

"Contrary to all those who preach to us, we do what needs to be done for the security of Israel and we can and know how to stand our ground even against our best friends when necessary."

A senior Hamas official confirmed the now-rejected deal, which Egypt, Qatar and Turkey had helped to mediate.

It comes just a month after Trump reportedly applied "heavy pressure" on Mr Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, when the pair met at the White House last month.

Mr Trump ⁠had previously said Hamas, ​which ruled Gaza for ​nearly two decades since their election in January 2006, had ​agreed to lay down its weapons.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed, and 251 were taken hostage.

Israel's response saw a massive military campaign launched in Gaza - during which more than 73,290 people were killed, including 21,280 children, according to the territory's health ministry.

Both a UN Commission Report and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have since passed a resolution stating that Israel's conduct in Gaza fulfils the criteria of a genocide under international law.