Trump announces Hamas ‘complete disarmament’ agreement; Hamas yet to respond

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced what he described as a historic agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, calling it a key step toward establishing a new Palestinian government in Gaza.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement envisages Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza surrendering their weapons in carefully structured phases. He added that, as disarmament progresses, Israeli forces would gradually withdraw and an International Stabilization Force, working alongside a new Palestinian police force, would assume responsibility for security in Gaza. Trump also thanked Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye for their mediation efforts.

Hamas did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement. However, sources familiar with the Cairo-mediated negotiations told AFP that the group was moving closer to a deal involving the decommissioning of its weapons, though it had submitted amendments to parts of the proposed roadmap and was awaiting Israel’s response.

The issue of Hamas’s disarmament has remained one of the biggest obstacles in advancing the Gaza ceasefire that has been in place since October. Despite the truce, Israeli strikes on Thursday reportedly killed at least four people, including two children, according to health officials.

Egypt is expected to host a fresh round of talks involving the United States, Qatar and Turkiye to discuss implementing the second phase of the ceasefire plan. Under Trump’s proposed 20-point peace roadmap, the next phase includes Hamas’s disarmament, a phased Israeli military withdrawal, and the transfer of Gaza’s governance to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic body.

Diplomatic sources said the proposal calls for the elimination of all weapons, tunnels and arms production facilities in Gaza, with no exemptions. All weapons would come under the control of the NCAG, supported by the proposed International Stabilization Force, with a verification mechanism to monitor compliance.

An Israeli political source, however, said the proposal does not fully meet Israel’s demand for the complete demilitarisation of Gaza and the removal of all Hamas weapons before any political transition. The source also claimed that Gaza was not discussed during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump in Washington earlier this week.