Finally on Sunday, Netanyahu told his cabinet, " I wish to be precise here: Israel does not accept the 15-point document." He added: " The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed.

And when I say the disarming of Hamas, it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry. And we are talking about genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament."

In the same statement, the prime minister described President Trump as "the greatest of our friends in the White House" but said that Israel knew "how to stand firm" against unacceptable ideas. In Israel, there is widespread scepticism that Hamas intends to follow through on its commitments.

The Islamist movement has long seen "armed struggle" as a core precept, its legitimate response to Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. In recent months, there had been signs of it reasserting its authority in Gaza."

She stressed that the "trauma of the Israeli people" from the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which ignited the devastating Gaza war, should not be underestimated. Any potential concessions for Netanyahu would come at a politically sensitive moment.

He is facing an uphill contest in the upcoming general election, scheduled for 27 October. It will be Israel's first since the 7 October assault and three years on, Netanyahu has failed to secure what he vowed: "absolute victory" over Hamas.

The former American diplomat and veteran Middle East negotiator, Aaron David Miller, said the Israeli leader is facing "the most consequential election" of his political life. For now, he believes the White House recognises the situation and is giving Netanyahu "a pass."

Miller added: " It's hard to believe that you're going to see any serious movement before you have another Israeli government." In the meantime, the Board of Peace has been trying to reassure the Israeli public about the roadmap.

The High Commissioner for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov – who led months of delicate negotiations with Hamas – gave an interview to Israel's Channel 12 just hours after Netanyahu's formal rejection of the roadmap." Its goal is to make sure that Gaza is never again a threat to Israeli security and that what happened before, [on] October 7, never happens again," he said.

He said the deal takes "a step-by-step approach" meaning: " If there is verified decommissioning of weapons, that they are taken away from the factions and stored and ultimately rendered unusable, Israel then withdraws from Gaza." Ultimately, Mladenov said that nothing was being built "on the basis of trust" but on "verification."

Hamas has since indicated that it still remains committed to the roadmap. It called on mediators and the Board of Peace to push for Israel to stick to the terms agreed.

The Israeli prime minister has confirmed that talks with the Americans are continuing. Meanwhile heavy pressure from Washington is likely to increase.

Trump is also looking at an important election this year – November's midterm elections for the US Congress. His Republican party faces the prospect of heavy losses, with petrol and grocery prices pushed up, in part due to Washington's unpopular five-month-long war in Iran.

The US president's own approval rating has tumbled, and he may well demand positive developments in his peace plan for Gaza in an effort to score a much-needed foreign policy win.

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