Israel threatens Gaza war resumption

The Gaza talks are no longer just about a pause in fighting. They are now about who gets to control postwar Gaza, who keeps weapons, and whether a ceasefire is a bridge to peace or just a holding pattern. That is why Israel’s latest threat matters. It is not simply military signaling — it is pressure to force a political outcome that Hamas and other Palestinian factions say they will not accept on those terms. ### What changed this weekend? Israel raised the prospect of resuming full-scale war unless Palestinian armed groups in Gaza disarm, while Hamas sent a delegation to Cairo for another round of indirect talks. The immediate fight is over the next step in the negotiations. Israel is treating disarmament as a precondition. Hamas is treating it as an end-state question that can only come after guarantees on withdrawal, reconstruction, and Palestinian political rights. (aljazeera.com) ### Why is disarmament the sticking point? Because disarmament is not a technical clause. It is the core power question. For Israel, leaving Hamas armed means leaving intact the force that carried out the October 7 attack and still claims military relevance in Gaza. For Hamas, handing over weapons f(aljazeera.com)r’s preferred sequence as a trap. (aljazeera.com) ### What is Hamas actually asking for? The emerging Palestinian position seems broader than Hamas alone. A joint proposal from Palestinian factions tied any weapons handover to a political package — Palestinian statehood, security guarantees, and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel and the U.S. rejected t(aljazeera.com) is any irreversible political horizon. (middleeasteye.net) ### Why is Cairo still central? Egypt remains the key middleman because it can talk to everyone who matters in this round — Israel, Hamas, the U.S., and other Arab mediators. Cairo is where the sequencing fight gets translated into draft proposals, deadlines, and partial formulas. But mediation only works if both sides think delay helps less than compromise. Right now, delay still seems useful to both. (aljazeera.com) ### Is the ceasefire still holding? Only in the loosest sense. Reports over the weekend described Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza that killed at least two Palestinians even as talks continued. So the pattern is familiar — negotiations on paper, pressure on the ground. That does not automatically mean a full collapse is imminent, but it does mean the “truce” is fragile enough to be used as leverage. (aljazeera.com) ### Why does sequencing matter so much? Because sequencing decides who takes the real risk first. Think of it like an exchange where neither side trusts the other to hand over its half after receiving what it wants. If Hamas disarms first, it loses deterrence. If Israel withdraws first or makes poli(aljazeera.com) has solved it yet. (aljazeera.com) ### What does this mean now? The talks are still alive, but the center of gravity has shifted. The main question is no longer just how to pause the war. It is whether a pause can be used to redesign Gaza’s political and military order. That is a much bigger ask — and a much harder one. ### Bottom l(aljazeera.com)ent conditional on a broader political settlement. Until one side accepts the other’s sequence — or mediators invent a new one — the ceasefire will stay unstable.