Israel Threatens to Resume Gaza War to Force Hamas Disarmament; IDF Controls 59% of Gaza as 'Truce Frays'

Al Jazeera reported on May 3, 2026 that Israeli officials explicitly threatened to tear up the fragile October 2025 ceasefire agreement and resume full-scale military operations in Gaza unless Hamas agreed to a phased disarmament roadmap. The threat came as the 828th Palestinian death since the October ceasefire was recorded. Key developments: (1) Israeli forces had expanded their territorial control to 59% of Gaza by pushing the 'Yellow Line' — the ceasefire boundary — progressively westward since October 2025, an expansion of approximately 12 percentage points from the territory they held on ceasefire day; (2) Israeli officials presented Hamas with a five-stage disarmament roadmap requiring complete Hamas disarmament within 281 days; (3) Hamas rejected the demands as equivalent to 'demanding surrender,' insisting any pathway to peace required a full Israeli military withdrawal and end to the siege of Gaza; (4) US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's team acknowledged the ceasefire framework was 'under strain.' IDF field commanders were reportedly placed on standby for a potential resumption of major operations under what one Israeli official called 'Operation Final Reckoning' contingency planning. Al Jazeera analysis found that Israel's progressive expansion of the buffer zone around the Yellow Line since October 2025 amounted to a de facto land seizure under cover of ceasefire — a position consistent with what the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territories had described as 'forcible transfer' under IHL.