Hamas said it agreed to disarm as long as Israel withdraws from Gaza and agrees to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, conditions that dent the prospects of a revival in the protracted peace process.
The militant group will give up heavy weaponry if Israel accepts those requirements, alongside the deployment of an administrative committee in Gaza and international security forces, it said in a statement on Telegram on Friday.
Israel won’t withdraw from Gaza unless Hamas disarms first, according to an Israeli official familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. That suggests the two sides have yet to agree on a way forward, despite the US-led Board of Peace laying out a road map toward peace and reconstruction in the Palestinian territory.
US President Donald Trump said late Thursday an agreement had been reached for Hamas to disarm, calling it a “monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY.”
On Friday, Trump told reporters that “we do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us, and they’ve been very good.”
The timetable for completing the implementation of Trump’s plan for Gaza — agreed in October of last year — should be prepared within 14 days after all parties approve the plan, The Board of Peace said in posts on X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has yet to comment.
Nickolay Mladenov, who serves as the high representative for Gaza for the Board of Peace, said in a post on X that “withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.“
The various statements suggest a breakthrough in the monthslong deadlock in Gaza isn’t imminent. Israel and Hamas have controlled about half the territory each since the Trump-championed peace agreement was signed in October, ending two years of war set off by the militant group’s October 2023 assault on Israeli communities and military bases, which left some 1,200 Israelis dead. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and many other Western nations.