Israel on Monday said Hamas will be given a 60-day deadline to disarm or Israeli troops will "complete the mission".
Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs said the clock could start ticking after the first meeting of the Board of Peace on Thursday, Israeli media reported, though he stressed this was not certain.
The first formal gathering of the board members appointed by US President Donald Trump will be held in Washington on Thursday. Representatives of at least 20 countries are expected to attend.
The board's creation was endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution as part of the Trump administration's plan to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The 20-point plan calls for the disarmament of Hamas.
Speaking in Jerusalem to the Besheva Group conference, Mr Fuchs said the US administration had asked for the 60-day period and “we are respecting that”.
During that period, the senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas “will have to give up all of its weapons”.
“We will evaluate it,” Mr Fuchs said. “If it works, great. If not, then the [Israeli military] will have to complete the mission.”
He added that it was “reasonable" that before Israeli elections that could potentially be held in June, Hamas will have either given up its weapons or Israel will be in the middle of an intensive military campaign in Gaza".
Mr Fuchs said many tunnels need to be destroyed as part of the process, “on our side as well”.
Israel and Hamas agreed to the plan last year, with a ceasefire taking effect on October 10, although both sides have accused each other of repeatedly breaching the truce conditions.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the territory since the ceasefire began. Israel has said four of its soldiers have been killed by Palestinian militants in the same period.
Mr Trump said the founding member countries of his board have pledged more than $5 billion towards humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza.
He said board members had also pledged “thousands of personnel” to a stabilisation force to help maintain security in Gaza.
While regional Middle East powers, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel – as well as emerging nations such as Indonesia – have joined the board, global powers and traditional western US allies have been more cautious.
The war started with the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's air and ground war in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 people since, according to Palestinian Health Ministry data.
