TEL AVIV / GAZA( The COW News Digital) Israel’s defence minister has instructed the military to develop a comprehensive operational plan to defeat Hamas and dismantle its capabilities should the militant group fail to comply with the terms of a U.S.-backed ceasefire arrangement, officials said.
Defence Minister Yoav Katz met with senior military leaders and ordered the army to prepare detailed contingencies that would guide a renewed campaign in Gaza if Hamas does not meet obligations under the deal brokered by mediators. According to statements released by the defence ministry, the plan would only be implemented if Hamas refuses to fulfil the agreement’s key conditions, including the return of the dead hostages, the disarmament of militant units, and the destruction of tunnels within Gaza.
“The measures we are instructing the Israel Defence Forces to plan for are contingent but decisive,” a ministry spokesman said. “If the terms are not honoured, Israel will act—together with partners if necessary—to ensure Hamas no longer poses a threat from Gaza’s streets and tunnels.”
The development follows public warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump, who told CNN that he would authorise Israel to resume military operations in Gaza if Hamas fails to hand over the remains of hostages and otherwise comply with the ceasefire framework. Trump said that many of the bodies listed in the agreement have not yet been returned and stressed that he could permit Israeli forces to “return to those streets” at his direction.
Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has acknowledged handing over a limited number of remains under the agreement while saying that locating additional bodies amid the wreckage will require large-scale searches and specialised equipment. The group has said it is attempting to carry out recoveries despite the logistical and security challenges in heavily damaged areas.
Israeli leaders have framed compliance as a test of the ceasefire’s durability. Several ministers have argued publicly that partial or bad-faith implementation by Hamas would constitute grounds for renewed operations. Military planners are reportedly drawing on recent operational experience and intelligence assessments to outline options that range from targeted raids to broader urban operations aimed at degrading Hamas’s command-and-control and tunnel networks.
International mediators and humanitarian organisations have urged both parties to avoid actions that would endanger civilians or undermine relief efforts. They warn that renewed large-scale combat in Gaza would dramatically worsen an already dire humanitarian situation and disrupt desperately needed aid deliveries.
For now, the exchange of remains and the verification process continue under international supervision. But with rhetoric hardening on both sides, diplomats caution that the situation remains fragile and that the choices made in coming days could determine whether the ceasefire holds—or slides back toward renewed conflict.
