Chief of Staff of the Occupation Army: 2026 is decisive for disarming Hamas

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Occupation Army, Eyal Zamir, said that 2026 will be decisive regarding shaping Israel's security reality, and that he is determined to disarm the Palestinian Hamas movement.

He added that the army carried out offensive operations in response to Hamas's breach of the agreement in the Gaza Strip, according to his expression, and during a field tour he conducted on Wednesday in the south of the sector, he stated that the army is present on the yellow line overlooking the sector, which constitutes new security borders, and is considered a reinforced defensive line and a military base for executing rapid attacks.

Zamir confirmed "We are fully determined to disarm Hamas and the rest of the terrorist organizations. We will not allow the terrorist Hamas movement to rebuild its capabilities and threaten us".

Zamir's statements come a few days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of committing war crimes in Gaza - raised this issue during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida.

Sources reported that the United States and Israel have set a final deadline of two months to dismantle Hamas's weapons, during the meeting that brought Netanyahu together with Trump.

It added that it was also agreed that disarming Hamas includes destroying the tunnels.

The sources said that if Hamas's weapons are not disarmed, the ball will return to Israel and the army.

American officials were quoted as saying that Washington plans to begin rebuilding Gaza within weeks, while it is expected that the process of disarming Hamas will take much longer.

An American official and an informed source were quoted as saying that Netanyahu agreed to proceed with the second phase of the Gaza agreement, despite differences with Trump's team regarding its implementation.

Trump had expressed his hope to quickly reach the second phase of the agreement, and said after his meeting with Netanyahu that Hamas will be given a short period to relinquish its weapons, and if it does not relinquish its weapons, it will pay a heavy price.