The Israeli occupation preempted the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, with Defense Minister Yisrael Katz threatening to continue the war on the Gaza Strip under the pretext of destroying Palestinian resistance tunnels, raising questions about the seriousness of the occupation’s commitment to the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Katz said he ordered the army forces to prepare to carry out the mission of destroying the tunnels of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) after the release of the prisoners, claiming that “destroying Hamas tunnels means implementing the agreed principle of disarming it and stripping it of its capabilities.”

The executive steps of US President Donald Trump’s plan regarding Gaza stipulate that Hamas hand over all living prisoners held by factions, as well as the remains of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

The exchange deal includes the release of about 250 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and about 1700 prisoners from the Gaza Strip detained after October 7, 2023.

Public debate in Israel indicates that Tel Aviv intends through the agreement—made under US President Donald Trump’s plan—to settle the battle with Hamas and achieve what it failed to do through war, which is to eliminate its weapons. This is stated by Israeli affairs expert Imad Abu Awad, who pointed out that what is understood from Katz’s words is that Israel is heading towards prolonging the second phase of the agreement.

Abu Awad told Al Jazeera that Israel is likely to adopt a strategy based on placing more obstacles during the implementation of the next phase, citing the existence of tunnels and weapons, and that Hamas still exists in the Gaza Strip.

He believes Israel now thinks that war in another way is the means through which it can achieve some strategic goals, most notably continuing to tighten restrictions on Palestinians to keep the displacement project in their minds and turning the Gaza Strip into an unlivable area.

According to Al Jazeera correspondent Fatima Khamaisi, Katz’s statement is read as an official Israeli military attempt to market the plan approved by the government as an achievement that preserves Israeli goals, represented in “disarming Hamas, removing it from power, and ensuring Gaza poses no future threat to Israel.”

She referred to statements by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir revealed by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, who said during a government meeting last Thursday that “the war is not over, only its first phase has ended.”

Director of the Vision Center for Political Development, Ahmed Atauna, sees that there are thorny points in the US president’s plan that require deep and detailed discussion between mediators and Palestinians, and among Palestinians themselves, noting that Arab and Islamic countries have declared that weapons are a Palestinian issue to be resolved within internal Palestinian dialogue, and that Gaza’s administration should be Palestinian, not international.

Atauna expected in an interview with Al Jazeera that the second phase of the agreement would be difficult in negotiations and even more difficult in implementation, but he stressed the importance of answering a set of questions, interpreting some issues, and clarifying their meaning before Trump’s plan turns into an international plan, as is being sought.

He pointed out that Palestinians reject most of Trump’s plan provisions, especially those related to its second phase.

On the dawn of October 9, 2025, in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, an agreement was announced regarding the first phase of Trump’s peace plan in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas confirmed it reached an agreement to end the war, including an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and prisoner exchange, but called on Trump and the mediating countries to ensure Israel fully implements the ceasefire.