A major chapter has ended in the war that began when Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with the burial of Ran Gvili, the final hostage whose remains were returned earlier this week from Gaza and buried today in his southern Israel hometown of Meitar.

Yet thousands of Israelis continue to be called up for reserve duty and the final aim of the Gaza war — disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza — has yet to be achieved. 

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, President Donald Trump said that “many countries say we really want to” disarm Hamas, and his advisor Jared Kushner presented the administration’s plan for the next steps in Gaza, which include the destruction of “heavy weapons, tunnels, military infrastructure, weapons production facilities and munitions” in Gaza in the next 100 days. Under the plan, only members of the police appointed by the Palestinian technocratic committee would be able to hold weapons, but Hamas is reportedly seeking to have 10,000 of its members, whom Israel regards as terrorists, remain in the police force. 

At the same time, Kushner’s slide deck was much more focused on the “New Gaza,” complete with Dubai-esque futuristic skyscrapers, than it was on the details of how to get Hamas to give up its weapons. “There is no Plan B,” Kushner said regarding Gaza’s future.

In Jerusalem and in Washington, officials expressed skepticism about the prospect of Hamas voluntarily relinquishing its weapons, and whether the International Stabilization Force described in the Gaza ceasefire deal will be up to the task of confiscating those weapons.They view Israeli military action in the Hamas-controlled half of Gaza as the likely scenario.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who sits on the Security Cabinet, told Kan Bet radio that while Israel is heaving “a great sign of relief with the return of the hero Ran Gvili … the central thing in stage two [of the Gaza ceasefire] is disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza.” 

“The chance that [Hamas] will give up its arms willingly or that the international force being put together now will do the work, in my opinion, is not high,” Cohen said. “That’s why in the framework of talks between Israel and the U.S. … a timeline was established, meaning that if the international force succeeds, then good, but if it goes according to my estimation … then the State of Israel will ensure Hamas disarms. … We are determined to finish the job.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called in a post on X for Trump to “allow Israel to finish the job,” saying that “as to Hamas, nothing has changed. … They don’t seek peace. They only seek destruction. … This has gone on too long.”

Jonathan Ruhe, fellow for American strategy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, noted to Jewish Insider that the International Stabilization Force meant to deploy to Gaza as part of the ceasefire “still lacks a clear mandate, or the troops to fill it out.” 

“Because Hamas won’t disarm peacefully, Arab and other Muslim countries consistently refuse to put their forces in harm’s way or risk causing collateral damage to Palestinian civilians,” Ruhe said. “The U.S. needs to adapt its strategy, which remains stuck on convincing Hamas to give over its weapons. Hamas thinks it won the war. … An emboldened and well-armed Hamas steadily undermines Trump’s plan of convincing international partners to invest their money and political capital in the hard work of building a new Gaza.”

Matthew Shea contributed to this report.