When President Donald Trump publicly demanded that Hamas disarm before the rebuilding of Gaza could begin, he was right about one essential principle. Reconstruction without demilitarization is not peacebuilding. It is rearmament with better plumbing. It is concrete poured over ideology. It is the reconstruction of the very launchpad that led to October 7.

The world seems determined to forget what Gaza became long before the current war. After Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2005, when every soldier and every Jewish resident left the Gaza Strip, the territory had a chance. Instead of building Singapore on the Mediterranean, Hamas built an underground fortress. Hundreds of kilometers of tunnels were constructed beneath homes, schools, mosques, and hospitals. Billions in international aid flowed in. Rockets flowed out. Tens of thousands of rockets were launched at Israeli civilians in the years leading up to October 7. That is not a narrative. That is documented reality.

And Hamas was never alone.

Beyond Hamas stands Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-funded terror organization whose sole purpose is Israel’s destruction. There are also factions like the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, historically linked to Fatah, and countless individual actors radicalized by decades of indoctrination. Even if Hamas were to ceremonially hand over some rifles for a photo opportunity, what about the rest? Who verifies that Islamic Jihad disarms? Who dismantles the weapons workshops hidden beneath refugee camps? Who ensures that the remaining tunnels are not simply reactivated once cameras leave?

The Israel Defense Forces have destroyed a significant portion of the tunnel network. But no serious military analyst believes it has been fully eradicated. Gaza’s subterranean maze was designed precisely for resilience and regeneration. Concrete can be replaced. Ideology is harder to uproot.

Now we hear talk of international oversight. Monitoring boards. Peacekeeping mechanisms. Perhaps even a United Nations presence. The same United Nations whose peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon stood by while Hezbollah amassed over 150,000 rockets under their watch. The same international bodies that can file reports but cannot fire a shot when agreements are violated. Are we truly expected to believe that a new “peace board” will prevent rearmament? That inspectors will descend into tunnels guarded by militants and enforce disarmament?

In the Middle East, weakness is not neutral. It is an invitation.

The deeper issue is not only weapons. It is radicalization. For years, children in Gaza have been raised on schoolbooks and television programming that glorify martyrdom and demonize Jews. Streets are named after terrorists. Summer camps simulate kidnapping Israeli soldiers. This is not fringe culture. It has been mainstreamed. When former hostages such as Alon Ohel describe the atmosphere they experienced and say there are no innocent people in Gaza, the statement shocks Western ears. It should at least provoke serious reflection. How does an entire society reach a point where hostage taking is celebrated and mass murder is cheered in the streets?

Peace does not grow in soil fertilized with incitement.

President Trump may genuinely want a historic achievement. He may envision himself as the ultimate dealmaker who ends the Gaza conflict and reshapes the Middle East. But peace cannot be reduced to ceremony. It cannot be declared from a podium and sealed with applause. If rebuilding begins while terror infrastructure remains intact and society remains ideologically mobilized against Israel, the outcome is predictable. Another October 7. Another massacre. Another war.

Some in the West romanticize the situation. They assume that economic prosperity will automatically moderate extremism. The evidence in Gaza contradicts that assumption. Before October 7, thousands of Gazans held work permits in Israel. Humanitarian aid entered daily. Medical patients were treated in Israeli hospitals. None of that prevented the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Ideology overrode economic logic.

As long as Israel lowers its guard in the name of international approval, it risks repeating history. The Middle East does not reward wishful thinking. It punishes miscalculation. Survival in this region has always depended on deterrence and strength. That is not a slogan. It is a lesson written in blood.

True reconstruction must begin with total demilitarization, not symbolic gestures. It must include dismantling every remaining tunnel, confiscating every weapon, and eliminating every armed faction, not just Hamas. It must be followed by a generational process of deradicalization. New curricula. New leadership. New narratives that reject martyrdom and accept coexistence. That transformation will not happen in a year. It may not happen in a generation. But without it, any rebuilding effort is a strategic illusion.

Concrete without change is camouflage.

If the international community is serious about peace, it must demand not only ceasefires but cultural reform. Not only funds but accountability. Not only reconstruction but reeducation. Anything less is not compassion. It is negligence.

Peace will not come because a leader desires a Nobel Prize. It will come only when the infrastructure of terror is dismantled and the ideology that sustains it is replaced. Until then, rebuilding Gaza without banning terror is not peace-making. It is rebuilding the next battlefield.

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