Saturday, August 1, 2026 - Hamas announced on Friday, July 31, that it has agreed to a deal outlined by President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza, which includes handing over its weapons to a Palestinian governing committee alongside a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Israel did not immediately issue an official response.
However, an Israeli political source disclosed shortly before the announcement
that the proposed framework did not “satisfactorily” meet Israel’s demands for
the full demilitarization of the enclave. The source added that "the issue
of Gaza did not come up at all" during the recent meeting between Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump in Washington.
The surrender of weapons by Palestinian militant factions has
remained a primary point of contention in implementing a long-term resolution.
President Trump announced the breakthrough late Thursday, describing the
agreement for Hamas's “complete disarmament” as a critical milestone toward
establishing a new administration in Gaza.
Hamas representatives confirmed that a committee established
by Trump’s Board of Peace would oversee the storage of the movement's arms. The
group noted that it expects international mediators and the Board of Peace to
ensure Israel complies with its obligations, including a complete troop
withdrawal.
Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas negotiating team, stated
that the movement was making “concessions for the sake of our people in the
Gaza Strip, to save them from killing and displacement.”
Emphasizing the terms of the oversight mechanism, Hamad
stated: “Israel will not intervene in the issue of disarmament. The National
Committee is the body that will undertake this task.”
Despite existing ceasefire protocols, sporadic violence has
continued, with health officials reporting that Israeli strikes killed at least
four people in Gaza on Thursday.
Addressing the next steps, the Board of Peace confirmed on X
that Hamas had “agreed to a detailed Roadmap for implementing the next phases
of the Gaza ceasefire,” adding: “Our focus now turns to implementation.”
The roadmap envisions the National Committee for
Administration of Gaza (NCAG) assuming governance responsibilities in stages.
President Trump noted that following disarmament, "Israeli forces will
withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new
Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its
residents and its neighbours."
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative
for Gaza, stressed that the agreement followed "months of very difficult
negotiations," adding: “What happens next matters even more.
Implementation and verification have to be real. Withdrawal must move in
lockstep with decommissioning.”
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States
are preparing to convene in Cairo to discuss the second phase of the
transition. A diplomatic source confirmed that the plan establishes "a
process for the elimination of all tunnels, depots of weapons and any weapons
production facilities," maintaining a strict policy of "one
authority, one law, one weapon."
Before the announcement, an Israeli political source
reiterated Tel Aviv's firm position: “Israel demands the complete disarmament
of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and full demilitarisation
of the Strip as a precondition for any process.”
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