President Donald Trump says mediators reached a landmark agreement in Cairo on Thursday for the phased disarmament of Hamas, though a Hamas official has downplayed it as only a draft, and U.S. officials admit Israel remains doubtful the group will actually give up its weapons.
In a social media post, Trump described the agreement as a historic step toward disarming Hamas and all other armed factions in Gaza, framing it as a major move toward lasting peace and security in the region. He said the deal marks a critical step toward Palestinian self-governance working alongside his so-called Board of Peace, while giving Israel the security guarantees it’s been seeking. The Israeli embassy in Washington had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting.
Disarmament terms in dispute
A source close to Hamas told Reuters the draft calls for heavy weapons to be stored under the control of a Palestinian administration rather than handed to Israel. A member of Hamas’s negotiating team, Ghazi Hamad, told Al Jazeera the group won’t take any disarmament steps until Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.
A U.S. official acknowledged Israel is highly doubtful Hamas will follow through, though the official said Washington remains confident and warned Trump would be deeply disappointed if the group reneges. Estimates for how long the disarmament process could take varied widely — a Board of Peace official floated 200 to 320 days, though a U.S. official downplayed that figure.
Before Trump’s announcement, an unnamed Israeli official said Israel had already rejected an earlier proposal, insisting on full disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza as a non-negotiable precondition, and said a 15-point document under discussion failed to meet those demands.
Violence continues on the ground
Separately on Thursday, Israeli strikes killed at least six Palestinians in Gaza, including two children, according to medics.
The broader plan
The disarmament talks are part of the second phase of Trump’s wider Gaza plan, negotiated with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. The plan envisions a Gaza rebuilt and governed by Palestinians, a surge in humanitarian aid, a civilian Palestinian administration, an Israeli troop withdrawal, and deployment of an international security force. Trump’s Board of Peace envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the goal is a Gaza at peace with Israel with a genuine path toward resolving the broader conflict.
Officials offered few specifics on reconstruction plans. One diplomat said the agreement also targets the elimination of tunnels, weapons stockpiles, and arms production sites, aiming to leave no militant infrastructure in Gaza by the end of the process. A U.S. official cautioned that this is a “conditions-based deal,” not one built on trust.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military has kept expanding its footprint in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel intends to control up to 70% of the territory. It’s still unclear how large an international stabilization force would be, or whether Israeli troops would actually pull out.
Health officials reported additional Israeli strikes Thursday killed two children, a woman, and three men; the Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants. Since the ceasefire began in October, more than 1,200 Palestinians — mostly civilians — have been killed by Israeli strikes despite repeated violations, alongside four Israeli soldiers killed by militants, according to Gaza health officials and Israeli authorities respectively. Hamas typically does not disclose its own casualties.
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