KVIG Informative

President Trump called the Gaza roadmap a monumental step toward peace. Five days later, Israel had killed 26 people and openly told mediators it intends to keep striking anyway.

Israeli forces intensified bombardment across Gaza after Hamas accepted the Board of Peace’s second-phase roadmap last week. At least 19 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday alone, bringing the weekend death toll to 26, including women and children. The strikes continued Monday, with the Board of Peace publicly urging Israel to de-escalate and Israeli forces killing two more people in Gaza in defiance of that request.

The roadmap’s second point demands Israel complete without delay all remaining commitments, particularly the cessation of military operations in the Strip. Israel has not accepted that condition. A source told Haaretz that Israel is demanding freedom to strike areas of Gaza set to be handed over to a temporary International Stabilization Force, and objects to Qatar and Turkey verifying the plan’s implementation. An Israeli official put it directly: Israel will not withdraw from the current line in the Gaza Strip, and will continue to eliminate any threats to our citizens and our soldiers.

Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, the three nations mediating the ceasefire, issued a joint statement Monday condemning what they called ongoing Israeli violations, specifically citing strikes on medical infrastructure that have caused civilian casualties including women and children. The mediators called the continued attacks a breach of the agreement and said the escalation risks derailing the roadmap’s second phase entirely.

Netanyahu faces pressure from both directions. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements Minister Orit Strock sent Netanyahu an urgent letter demanding he block the multinational force’s entry into Gaza entirely, arguing the cabinet approved it based on incomplete information. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir echoed the objection, saying no international force would do the job and only Israel can destroy Hamas. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is trying to avoid a public break with Trump by allowing limited increases in aid into Gaza while stalling on the roadmap’s core issue: military withdrawal.

Palestinian analyst Ahmed Shehadeh described the strategy bluntly: Netanyahu’s government will continue procrastinating and disrupting the roadmap until Israel’s October 27 election, because any real implementation would cost him votes. A Board of Peace official, when asked to respond to Israel’s public defiance, declined to criticize Israel directly, saying only that the body is focused on implementation and has provided a pragmatic path to transform Gaza.

Trump has not publicly rebuked Netanyahu for the continued strikes. His administration built the roadmap. It has not yet enforced it. Every day that passes without enforcement is a day the ceasefire exists on paper in Washington and nowhere else.