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Gaza War Not Over Until Hamas Disarms, Says Netanyahu
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that the war in Gaza would not be over until Hamas was disarmed and the Palestinian territory demilitarised.
His declaration came as Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed over the remains of two further hostages on Saturday night under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli military said late Saturday that a Red Cross team received the remains of two hostages and the coffins were on their way to its security forces in Gaza.
The issue of the dead hostages still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire. Israel has linked the reopening of the key Rafah crossing to the territory to the recovery of the hostages’ remains.
Netanyahu cautioned that completing the ceasefire’s second phase was essential to ending the war.
He said late Saturday that “Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip.
“When that is successfully completed — hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way — then the war will end,” he added in an appearance on right-wing Israeli Channel 14.
Hamas has so far resisted the idea and since the pause in fighting has moved to reassert its control over the Gaza Strip.
Rafah crossing closed
Under the ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far released all 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese.
The most recent handover was on Friday night — the body was identified by Israel as Eliyahu Margalit, who died aged 75 in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 135 other bodies of Palestinians since the truce came into effect on October 10.
Hamas has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies, which it says are buried under Gaza’s rubble.
The two bodies to be returned on Saturday “were recovered earlier today”, the al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram.
Netanyahu on Saturday hinted that the reopening of the vital Rafah crossing to Egypt could depend on Hamas returning all the bodies of hostages still in Gaza.
The Palestinian mission in Cairo announced that the crossing could open as early as Monday, though only for Gazans living in Egypt who wished to return to the territory.
Shortly after, however, Netanyahu’s office said he had “directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice”.
“Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.
Hamas warned late Saturday that the closure of the Rafah crossing would cause “significant delays in the retrieval and transfer of remains”.
Digging latrines
Further delays to the reopening could also complicate the task facing Tom Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian relief, who was in northern Gaza on Saturday.
“I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation — this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland — and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP.
Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job”.
He said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to dig latrines in the ruins.
“They’re telling me most of all they want dignity,” he said.
“We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”
While the Rafah crossing has yet to reopen just over a week since the brokering of the truce, hundreds of trucks are rolling in each day via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed.
‘What did they do wrong?
Some violence has persisted despite the ceasefire.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said on Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians — two men, three women and four children — from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus.
Two more victims were blown apart in the blast and their remains have yet to be recovered, it said.
At Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital, the victims were laid out in white shrouds as their relatives mourned.
“My daughter, her children and her husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?” demanded grandmother Umm Mohammed Shaaban.
The military said it had fired on a vehicle that approached the so-called “yellow line”, to which its forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire, and gave no estimate of casualties.
“The troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them,” the military said.
“The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement.”
US President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran has been “largely negotiated” and details will be announced soon.
The deal would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said on Saturday, without giving further details.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei earlier told state television that US and Iranian positions had been converging in the last week, but warned that did not mean agreements would be reached on key issues and accused the Americans of “contradictory statements”.
On social media, Trump said he had a “very good call” with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and others about a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE”.
“An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” Trump said.
“Final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”
He also said he had a call on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which “went very well”.
The president has not given any further details on the deal, but has insisted any agreement would “absolutely” prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Later, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “I congratulate President Donald Trump on his extraordinary efforts to pursue peace,” and said the phone call had been “very useful and productive”.
Pakistan has been helping to negotiate a peace deal, serving as an intermediary.
“We hope to host the next round of talks very soon,” he wrote in the statement on X.
The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, sparking conflict across the Middle East. Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.
A ceasefire in Iran was agreed in early April, and since then Washington and Tehran have engaged in talks over a long-term peace deal.
Speaking to state television on Saturday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei also described a “memorandum of understanding”, saying Iran’s intention was to reach an agreement “in the form of a framework, consisting of 14 points”.
Baqaei said they were in the process of finalising the memorandum, so further talks could be held within 30 to 60 days “and ultimately a final agreement can be reached”.
The new sense of momentum comes after the mood appeared to have soured in Washington, with anonymous officials briefing US media on Friday that the administration was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes, although no final decision had been made.
On Friday, the president posted on Truth Social that he would not attend his son Donald Jr’s wedding this weekend so he could remain in Washington DC “during this important period of time”.
Last week, Trump had said the truce was on “massive life support” after rejecting Tehran’s demands, labelling them “totally unacceptable”.
The US has blockaded Iranian ports since 13 April.
On Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said it had redirected 100 vessels, disabled four, and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass since the blockade began.
Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said its forces had been “highly effective” in “allowing zero trade into and out of Iranian ports which has squeezed Iran economically”.
Meanwhile, Iran has claimed military control of an area around the Strait of Hormuz, and has said all transit through the strait “requires coordination with and authorisation from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority”.
The US and Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait, and the US has told ships not to comply with Iran’s rules.
Torrential rainfall has brought parts of New York City to a standstill after flash floods submerged roads, disrupted transport systems, and triggered chaotic scenes across multiple boroughs, including Queens and Brooklyn.
A viral video circulating on social media captured the intensity of the flooding, showing a woman struggling in powerful currents after attempting to escape a stranded bus.
The footage, widely shared online, highlighted the dangerous conditions as emergency responders rushed to affected areas.
Heavy downpours overwhelmed drainage systems on Wednesday, with authorities reporting that some areas received about 5 centimetres of rain within just one hour, turning streets and underpasses into fast-moving streams, leaving vehicles stranded and commuters trapped.
Reports say that in Brooklyn and Queens, the impact was particularly severe as floodwaters rose rapidly, forcing some motorists to abandon their vehicles while others waited for rescue on rooftops and elevated ground.
Transit authorities confirmed major disruptions across the city’s transport network.
Officials from New York Emergency Management issued urgent warnings as conditions worsened, advising residents to avoid floodwaters and move to higher ground where necessary.
Amid the ongoing crisis, authorities also referenced a separate fatal incident in Manhattan earlier in the week involving an open manhole.
The victim, identified as 56-year-old Donika Gocaj, died after accidentally stepping into a 10-foot-deep utility opening near Fifth Avenue.
They added, “Our thoughts remain with her family, and safety remains our top priority.”
Authorities say investigations into both the flooding impact and the manhole incident are ongoing as the city continues to recover from severe weather conditions.
United States President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, May 21, 2026, that he is uncertain whether he will attend his eldest son’s weekend wedding due to pressing geopolitical demands surrounding the war in Iran. The President’s eldest son, 48-year-old Donald Trump Jr., is scheduled to marry Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, 39, over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the Bahamas.
Despite the deeply personal milestone, the commander-in-chief revealed to reporters in the Oval Office that the worsening international conflict has severely restricted his schedule, complicating his ability to leave Washington during a critical diplomatic juncture.
The timing of the destination nuptials coincides with an intensely scrutinized push by the administration to broker an exit strategy for the highly unpopular war, which has dramatically deflated the President’s domestic approval ratings. Public dissatisfaction has intensified in recent weeks, with voters expressing deep anger over skyrocketing costs of living ahead of November’s high-stakes midterm elections.
The couple had initially explored hosting a grand, high-profile wedding at the White House, but those plans were ultimately scaled back to an intimate destination ceremony on a private island in the Bahamas to avoid political blowback during wartime.
Addressing the media regarding his potential travel plans, the President emphasized the precarious public relations situation he faces while American forces remain heavily engaged in the Middle East stalemate. “He’d like me to go. It’s going to be just a small little private affair and I’m going to try and make it,” Trump told reporters.
“I said, ‘This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.’ That’s one I can’t win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed … by the fake news, of course.”
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