'Conveyed our security concerns to US': Israel on Hamas disarmament plan

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump (File photo) Israel has conveyed “serious security concerns” to the White House over the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said, in some of the first public comments from Israel since US President Donald Trump announced the agreement.According to Doror Spielman, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Hamas remained “committed” to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely disarming. He stressed that the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where Tel Aviv currently controls more than 60% of the territory — until Hamas lays down its weapons.“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another October 7-style attack,” Spielman told AP, referring to the Hamas militant attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” he added.His remarks came days after Hamas announced that it would begin disarming as part of...