U.S. lawmakers expressed deep skepticism on Tuesday over the international Board of Peace’s newly announced Hamas disarmament framework, pointing to violations already taking place in Gaza and a lack of indications that Hamas is serious about honoring a deal as evidence that the ambitious peace proposal faces near-insurmountable hurdles.

The pushback comes less than a week after President Donald Trump announced that the Board of Peace had brokered an agreement calling for the “complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups” in the enclave, at which point the IDF is expected to completely withdraw. 

However, the agreement hit immediate turbulence over the weekend. Despite the plan calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the Israel Defense Forces carried out multiple strikes across Gaza. On Monday, Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov held a “constructive and detailed” meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, requesting a full pause in military operations to allow disarmament efforts to begin. 

Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday that the U.S. “sent us a draft” of the agreement, but “we didn’t agree. It wasn’t our draft. We sent our responses.” He vowed that Israeli troops would not pull back from their current lines in Gaza until disarmament was complete.

Against the backdrop of  hostilities and diplomatic friction, members of Congress across the aisle voiced serious doubts on Tuesday about the viability of the deal.

“There will be no real peace for Gaza or Israel as long as Hamas has weapons and is allowed to ruthlessly rule over innocent Palestinians,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) told Jewish Insider. “I’m cautiously encouraged by this plan, but let’s not kid ourselves — Hamas has a long record of lying, and they’ve broken their word before, over and over. I’ll be watching every step of this until Hamas is fully disarmed.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) was succinct in his assessment, noting that “it’s not really yet what I would call a deal,” given the resistance it has already faced.

Republicans also expressed skepticism that Hamas would live up to its end of the agreement. 

“I suspect that while this may have good intentions to it, I’ll believe it when I actually see it happening,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told JI. 

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), meanwhile, pointed the finger at international bodies and critics of Israel, arguing that enforcing Hamas’ disarmament will require real forces on the ground rather than unhelpful rhetoric from foreign observers.

“This plan will work, but first you’ve got to take their weapons, and they’re not going to just give up their weapons,” Kennedy said. “They’re going to say ‘Israel has to withdraw first, and then we’ll give up our weapons,’ and they won’t give up their weapons … My question is, where are all these other backseat drivers that have been criticizing Israel? Where are they? This is their chance for peace.”

“Other people in the world, including but not limited to the United Nations, who are preaching in Israel and in America about how we screwed up Gaza, they need to get off their ice-cold lazy butts and send some of their troops, along with Israeli troops, to disarm Hamas,” Kennedy added. “And they won’t do it. They just want to sit there and criticize us and the president.”