Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly dismissed the Gaza peace plan presented last month by former U.S. President Donald Trump, asserting that Israeli forces will remain in the enclave until Hamas is fully disarmed.
Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu affirmed that “Israel rejects the 15-point document,” though he noted that discussions regarding Gaza’s future remain ongoing with Washington.
Trump’s proposal had outlined a phased Israeli military withdrawal tied to Hamas’s disarmament; Israeli troops currently control over half of the enclave, which houses approximately two million people and has suffered widespread devastation.
While the White House offered no immediate response to Netanyahu’s rejection, Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim affirmed the militant group’s continued backing for the roadmap.
“We remain committed to the road map,” said Naim.
Naim added that Hamas expects international mediators and the U.S. to hold Netanyahu accountable, as the Prime Minister faces mounting domestic political pressure ahead of Israel’s scheduled October 27 elections. The ongoing war, sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, is currently held under a fragile ceasefire.
Amid the political impasse in Gaza, violence escalated in Yemen as Iranian-backed Houthi forces launched consecutive strikes against the government-controlled Red Sea port city of Mocha. A military source for the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV claimed the late-Sunday attack targeted weapons depots and Saudi troop positions.
Official Yemeni Armed Forces reported that ballistic missiles and drones hit civilian neighborhoods, resulting in severe damage to port structures, commercial goods, and piers. An earlier assault on Sunday killed seven people—four soldiers and three civilians—and left 15 civilians wounded.
In a concurrent statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed a drone strike on a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, citing retaliatory action against Saudi drone incursions over Yemen’s Hajjah and Saada provinces. The Saudi Energy Ministry acknowledged a fire at the Aramco facility, reporting no casualties, while omitting the cause.
The heightened hostilities threaten to break the delicate truce established in 2022 and reignite Yemen’s civil war.
Concurrently, Tehran announced a strategic leadership shift, appointing former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei to lead Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Rezaei, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, takes the helm of the influential security body following recent wartime leadership losses. He replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who stepped into the role after his predecessor, Ali Larijani, was killed in an Israeli strike in March.
The move follows Rezaei’s recent warning that Tehran will strictly regulate all passage through the Strait of Hormuz.