Hamas terrorists must give up their weapons, or “all hell breaks loose,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS on Tuesday.
Netanyahu spoke in response to a question on whether Israel’s two-year war against Hamas in Gaza was over. He replied that Israel was giving a chance to the ceasefire agreement forged by U.S. President Donald Trump, which includes “both demilitarization and disarmament,” which are “not the same thing,” the prime minister said.
“Well, we agreed to give peace a chance,” Netanyahu continued. The conditions in Trump’s 20-point plan “are very clear: It’s not only that we get the hostages out without getting our military out, but that we would subsequently have both demilitarization and disarmament.”
Hamas “has to give up its arms. And second, you want to make sure that there are no weapons factories inside Gaza, there’s no smuggling of weapons into Gaza. That’s demilitarization. We agreed that that’s part of plan,” Netanyahu said.
Currently, Israel agreed to “get the first part done,” the prime minister said. “And now let’s give a chance to do the second part peacefully, which is my hope. But if not, I think I heard the president speak tonight. He said, listen, they better do it or, you know, how can I, can I speak for him? He said, ‘all hell breaks loose.’ OK. Well, I hope it doesn’t. I hope we can do this peacefully.”
In the foreseeable future, Netanyahu said, “not only for Israel, but for the free world and for the civilized world, you have to maintain your ability to defend yourself, because freedom is not permanent, nor is it automatic. If you cannot defend free societies, they will be overtaken by authoritarian or totalitarian regimes.”
Asked whether this was a recipe for another century of hostilities, Netanyahu said, “I think not. I think in fact that, I think that the way you purchase peace is through strength,” recalling the 2020 Abraham Accords. “I made peace with four Arab states with President Trump, when everybody said it’s not going to happen.”
Following the war that broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, “we have an opportunity to broaden that peace following the chain of victories. It’s not yet finished, but it’s getting there. I hope it’ll be there very soon and very peaceful, I hope,” Netanyahu said.
Thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people and abducting another 251. Twenty days later, Israel invaded Gaza as part of a military operation to dismantle Hamas and free the hostages. The last remaining live hostages were released on Oct. 13, 2025.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, leading Israel to launch a major military campaign in Lebanon that forced Beirut to accept a ceasefire whose terms dictated Hezbollah’s withdrawal north of the Litani River.
The conflict led to a military confrontation between Iran and Israel in June. The U.S. assisted Israel with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as Israel’s air force carried out hundreds of air strikes across Iran.
