Netanyahu rejects ceasefire, keeps Israeli forces in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip in a meeting with Board of Peace Director Nickolay Mladenov in West Jerusalem on Monday (3/8). According to Israel Hayom and a Board of Peace statement, Israel is only willing to pull its forces back from areas outside the Yellow Line after the full disarmament of Hamas is complete, including light weapons, heavy weapons and tunnels. Hamas took the opposite position, saying disarmament depends on an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and progress on reconstruction. The stalemate emerged in the later phase of the U.S.-mediated ceasefire, as Israeli attacks on Gaza continued despite the ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025.