Hamas Agrees to Disarm in Gaza Under Trump-Brokered Peace Plan

US President Donald Trump announced a historic breakthrough in the Gaza peace process on Thursday, stating that Hamas has agreed to a detailed roadmap for its complete disarmament. The agreement, brokered by the US-led Board of Peace, aims to implement the long-stalled second phase of the October 2025 ceasefire. If successfully executed, it would mark the first time the Palestinian militant group has formally committed to relinquishing its weapons and dismantling its military infrastructure. The announcement comes after months of grueling negotiations in Cairo, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, seeking to bridge the massive trust deficit between the warring parties.[1][2]

The disarmament framework is built around a carefully structured, sequential process that explicitly links the decommissioning of Hamas's arsenal to the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. According to the 14-point plan released by the Board of Peace, all weapons currently held by Hamas and other armed factions will be transferred to a newly established Palestinian governing body. This transfer is designed to occur in lockstep with the pullback of Israeli troops from their current demarcation lines, ensuring that neither side feels vulnerable during the transition. The phased approach is intended to prevent a security vacuum while addressing the core demands of both Israel and Hamas.[3]

At the center of this governance transition is the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic body mandated to handle day-to-day civilian administration. The NCAG will be supported by a specially trained, US-backed Palestinian police force responsible for internal security. Once the committee officially arrives in the enclave and assumes authority, the complex process of decommissioning heavy weapons, dismantling military production sites, and destroying the vast subterranean tunnel network is slated to begin. This transfer of power aims to permanently remove Hamas from its role as the governing authority in Gaza, replacing it with an internationally vetted civilian administration.[3]

To separate the warring parties and oversee the delicate transition, an International Stabilization Force (ISF) will be deployed across the territory. This multinational peacekeeping contingent will operate primarily in the buffer zones between NCAG-administered areas and territories still under Israeli military control. The ISF's presence is intended to provide the robust security guarantees necessary for Israel to withdraw without fearing a sudden resurgence of cross-border attacks. Simultaneously, the force is tasked with protecting Palestinian civilians during the handover and ensuring that humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials can flow into the devastated enclave without interference.[1][2]

Verification remains a critical and highly sensitive component of the roadmap. An International Verification Committee (IVC) will be established to monitor compliance from all sides, ensuring that weapons are actually stored and tunnels are genuinely dismantled. The Board of Peace, a 40-nation entity created by Trump to oversee the reconstruction and governance of Gaza, emphasized that the focus now shifts entirely to implementation. Officials have stressed that the disarmament must be real, verifiable, and irreversible to satisfy the security demands of the agreement, acknowledging that any perceived deception could instantly collapse the fragile peace.[6]

Despite the diplomatic optimism radiating from Washington, the exact sequencing of the deal presents a profound logistical and political challenge. Hamas officials have publicly stated that they will not surrender their weapons prior to a full Israeli withdrawal, insisting that the two processes must happen simultaneously to guarantee their safety. Ghazi Hamad, a senior member of the Hamas negotiating team, framed the group's acceptance of the roadmap as a painful concession made to save the people of Gaza from further death and displacement. However, he reiterated that Israel must strictly uphold its end of the bargain first, reflecting the deep-seated mutual suspicion.[6]

Conversely, the Israeli government views the proposed sequencing with deep skepticism and apprehension. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not issued a formal public response to Trump's announcement, Israeli political sources have made it abundantly clear that there will be no withdrawal from current positions unless Hamas undergoes a genuine and complete disarmament first. Israeli officials have long demanded the full demilitarization of the Strip as an absolute precondition for any political process, arguing that any phased approach leaves Israeli citizens vulnerable to reorganized attacks during the transition period.[5]

The domestic political pressure on Netanyahu complicates the implementation timeline even further. Far-right members of his governing coalition, most notably National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have vehemently denounced the draft agreement. Ben Gvir characterized the deal as entirely unacceptable, arguing that it essentially allows Hamas to reorganize and rearm for future massacres under the guise of a phased handover. These hardline factions advocate for continued, unrelenting military pressure instead of a negotiated settlement, threatening the stability of Netanyahu's government if he formally accedes to the Board of Peace's roadmap.[5]

The disarmament agreement represents a critical juncture for Trump's broader 20-point peace plan, which was initially unveiled to the international community in September 2025. While the first phase successfully secured a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages in October, negotiations had been hopelessly deadlocked for months over the specifics of Gaza's future governance and demilitarization. Breaking this impasse offers the Trump administration a significant foreign policy victory, particularly as the US navigates broader, escalating regional tensions, including a direct military confrontation with Iran.[2]

The mediators who helped broker the breakthrough—including diplomats from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey—now face the daunting task of bridging the massive trust deficit between Israel and Hamas. The roadmap requires both sides to take synchronized, high-stakes steps in an environment completely devoid of mutual confidence. The ultimate success of the plan hinges on the ability of the Board of Peace and the broader international community to enforce the terms strictly, providing enough oversight to prevent either party from defecting from the phased timeline.[5]

For the two million residents of Gaza, the agreement offers a desperate glimmer of hope for an end to the devastating conflict and the beginning of a massive, internationally funded reconstruction effort. The territory has been severely battered by years of war, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians currently living in squalid tent camps amid entirely destroyed neighborhoods. The transfer of power to the technocratic NCAG and the subsequent influx of international aid are entirely contingent on the successful execution of the disarmament and withdrawal phases.[3][4]

Ultimately, the roadmap's viability will be severely tested in the coming weeks as the theoretical framework negotiated in Cairo meets the harsh reality on the ground in Gaza. The transition from an active state of war to a managed, internationally supervised demilitarization requires unprecedented cooperation and oversight. As the Board of Peace moves to operationalize the agreement, the world watches closely to see if this historic diplomatic commitment can actually translate into lasting stability and security for the Gaza Strip and its neighbors.[1]