Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that the Palestinian group Hamas could soon face a deadline to surrender its weapons.
"We estimate that in the coming days, Hamas will be given an ultimatum to disarm and completely demilitarize Gaza," Smotrich said in an interview with public broadcaster Kan.
"If it does not comply with it, the IDF (Israeli army) will have international legitimacy and American backing to do it itself, and the IDF is already preparing for this and is making plans," said the minister, who is a member of Israel's security cabinet charged with approving large-scale military operations.
The U.S.-sponsored ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since Oct. 10, halting Israel's two-year offensive that has killed more than 72,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire, the Israeli army withdrew to positions behind a so-called Yellow Line, but still controls over half of the territory.
