Even as the world is celebrating the Gaza ceasefire and the end of the more than two-year-long conflcit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said his country won’t hesitate to return to war if the objectives of the deal are not met. Netanyahu specifically mentioned one of the most contentious clauses in the 20-point Gaza peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump - the disarmament of Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Reuters/ File) Netanyahu warns Hamas Hamas, while agreeing to most of the Gaza peace plan proposals, including the militia relinquishing power in Gaza, had refused to agree on disarming. However, Netanyahu, on Friday, insisted that in the subsequent stages of the peace plan, “Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarised.” “If this is achieved the easy way, great. And if not, it will be achieved the hard way,” Netanyahu said, implying that Israel could return to war. Hamas is not the same after October 7 attack Hamas launched the deadliest terror attack in the history of Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1195 people and taking another 251 as hostages. Israel retaliated with unprecedented force, launching a full-scale military operation in Gaza, which has killed over 67,000 people in the two years of war. The military operation also dismantled Hamas, killing several top leaders and thousands of its fighters. Hamas had an estimated 25,000 and 30,000 fighters before the October 7 terror attack, and according to Israel, in the two years of war, its forces have killed between 17,000 to 23,000 of them. However, independent estimates put Hamas’ militant fatalities at nearly 8,500. Reports from Gaza also said that Hamas continued to recruit to its ranks throughout the two years of war, offsetting some of the losses it suffered. But observers say that Hamas has been weakened considerably, due to the loss of its leadership, weapons, and most significantly, by being cut off from Iranian arms supplies, leaving it a much weaker fighting force. Displaced Palestinians walk with their belongings past destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) The devastation caused by the war has resulted in Hamas losing popular support among Palestinians in Gaza, where they have been in power since 2007. With the war dragging on for two years, Hamas has also lost its support among the Arab countries, which later played a key role in the militant group accepting the peace deal, proposed by Trump.
