Hamas has agreed to completely disarm in Gaza under a plan announced by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, a senior Hamas official told the BBC. Israel has not yet commented. The agreement, if implemented, would lead to a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force alongside a new Palestinian police force.
Trump announced the development on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, saying the Board of Peace had reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. He called it a critical step toward Gaza being governed by a new Palestinian government. “As disarmament is completed, 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 neighbors,” Trump wrote. He thanked Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.
A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group had agreed to the Board of Peace’s plan and that an official statement would be released soon. Al Jazeera reported that it had received a copy of the document agreed to by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. Hamas has not yet officially commented on Trump’s statement.
Israel’s silence and reported objections
Complications remain. Earlier on Thursday, unnamed sources told Reuters that talks between mediators and Hamas leaders in Cairo had made rare progress, though an Israeli official said the proposed terms were not satisfactory. The Times of Israel, citing an unnamed source, reported that the agreement had been signed between negotiators from Hamas, the board, and mediating countries. However, it also reported that “an Israeli office” issued a statement saying the disarmament proposal did not meet Jerusalem’s demands. Israeli media had earlier reported that Israel was opposed to the deal being discussed with Hamas.
A US official told reporters there had been significant Israeli criticism when Turkey and Qatar were invited to join the Board of Peace, but said the agreement had proven that decision was correct. The official said there was now an alternative to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas in the form of a technocratic, apolitical government looking to work for the benefit of the people.
Phased implementation and pressure on Hamas
The disarmament forms part of the second phase of a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan, which also includes the reconstruction of Gaza. Trump said the agreement would be carried out in carefully structured phases. According to a draft seen by Al Jazeera, the implementation schedule for the weapons inventory process must be prepared within 14 days, a deadline that can be extended if an international verification commission agrees. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said the arrangement would see Hamas and other groups disarm sector by sector, followed by the recruitment of more Palestinian police officers who would work with an international coordination force. Fisher noted that the makeup of that force had not yet been finalized, but said there were rumors it could involve Indonesian and Turkish personnel, something he said the Israelis might not welcome.
Fisher also said there were obstacles in getting all sides ready to sign, but that it was made clear things would become more difficult for Hamas financially if they did not approve the deal.
Hamas had previously rejected a disarmament plan in April, according to a senior Palestinian official who spoke to the BBC. Earlier this month, the group elected a new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, who replaced Yahya Sinwar, killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in October 2024. As chief negotiator, Hayya led Hamas delegations at indirect ceasefire talks in Egypt and Qatar. Hamas announced on July 6 the dissolution of the body it had led that governed Gaza for nearly two decades.
The Board of Peace was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the war between Israel and Hamas and overseeing reconstruction, the BBC reported earlier this year. Its proposed charter does not mention the Palestinian territory and appears designed to supplant functions of the UN. Hamas led an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Israel responded with a massive military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 73,290 people have been killed, including 21,280 children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel had repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement, killing more than 1,200 Palestinians, seizing more territory, and continuing to restrict the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. Six more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday, including two children, according to the outlet.
Cairo is set to host a Gaza mediator meeting on the second phase of the ceasefire plan, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Egyptian state media. Hamas leaders have been in the Egyptian capital since late last week discussing the ceasefire deal with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.