Hamas agrees to Gaza disarmament deal tied to Israeli withdrawal, reports say

Experts say political uncertainty makes the Trump-backed plan untenable, for now.

A durable transition in Gaza will require phased disarmament, trusted verification, civilian recovery and reciprocal Israeli and Palestinian commitments.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group, has agreed to begin disarming under a ceasefire arrangement aimed at paving the way for a new civilian administration in Gaza.   On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement providing for Hamas’ “complete disarmament”, describing it as a major breakthrough towards establishing a new Palestinian-led government in the territory.   Trump said the deal marked “a major milestone” in the implementation of his 20-point peace plan and would be carried out in carefully sequenced phases.   He said Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza as the disarmament process progresses, while an international stabilisation force would work alongside a new Palestinian police force to assume responsibility for security in the territory.     “The threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild! Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE,” Trump said.   However, Hamas officials told AFP that the group’s weapons would be placed under the supervision of a committee established by Trump’s board of peace, which is expected to oversee the storage and eventual decommissioning of the arms.   The officials said they expect the mediators and the board of peace to ensure that Israel fulfils its commitments under the agreement, including the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.     Meanwhile, Israel has consistently maintained that Hamas must surrender all its weapons before any military withdrawal can take place.   Before Thursday’s announcement, an Israeli political source reiterated that the removal of weapons from Gaza and the territory’s full demilitarisation remained prerequisites for any political process.   Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ negotiating delegation, said the movement accepted the concessions to ease the suffering of Palestinians.   “We are making concessions for the sake of our people in the Gaza Strip, to save them from killing and displacement,” he said.     Although a ceasefire has been in effect since October, hostilities have persisted in parts of Gaza.   On Thursday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least four people, including two children, according to health officials.   Reacting to the agreement on X, Nickolay Mladenov, the board of peace’s high representative for Gaza, described the deal as the outcome of months of difficult negotiations.   “Today, agreement has been reached on the decommissioning of weapons and civilian transition in Gaza. It took months of very difficult negotiations to get here. There were several points when I did not believe we would make it,” Mladenov said.     He said the withdrawal of Israeli forces must proceed alongside the decommissioning of weapons, adding that the NCAG and the Palestinian people would require sustained political and practical support to assume responsibility for Gaza’s future.   “What the agreement says matters. What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real,” he added.   “Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning. And the NCAG and the Palestinian people need the political and practical backing to take charge of their own future.   “Grateful to Donald Trump for driving this through and to the US, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye and the UAE for their support and for helping keep negotiations on track when they could easily have collapsed.     “I also thank the UN Security Council for remaining focused on our work and consistently stressing the importance of fully implementing Resolution 2803.”    

There is a major development in the effort to bring lasting peace to Gaza. Hamas says it has agreed to a U.S.-backed framework that would ultimately see the militant group give up its weapons and control of Gaza, while Israeli forces withdraw from the territory. Nick Shifrin reports.

GAZA CITY — Hamas said Friday it had agreed to a deal that includes handing over its weapons to a Palestinian governing committee and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. The deal is aimed at implementing the long-stalled second phase of the Gaza cease-fire plan brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Thursday hailed the agreement for Hamas’ “complete disarmament,” calling it a “major milestone.” Israel has yet to officially comment on the announcement, but a political source told AFP “that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever” from Israeli forces’ current lines “unless Hamas undergoes […]...Keep on reading: Hamas agrees to disarm under Trump plan

Hamas said it will begin disarming as part of a deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump that also requires Israel to end its strikes and withdraw from Gaza