Hamas announced Friday that it has reached an agreement that includes surrendering its weaponry to a Palestinian governing committee and securing a gradual pullout of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The pact aims to implement the long-stalled second phase of the Gaza truce plan, which U.S. President Donald Trump mediated. Trump lauded the agreement on Thursday for Hamas’ “complete disarmament,” calling it a “major milestone.”
Israel has yet to respond publicly to the news, but a political source told AFP that Israeli forces “will execute no withdrawal whatsoever” from their current lines “unless Hamas undergoes a genuine disarmament.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the arrangement as “unacceptable,” claiming that negotiators “effectively agreed to let Hamas organize the next massacre.”
The Palestinian Islamist group’s weaponry has created a major stumbling block to fully enforcing the ceasefire agreement, which negotiators put in place in October.
According to an Israeli source, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “did not raise the issue of Gaza” during their meeting in Washington this week.
However, Trump insisted on Friday that Israel welcomed the new accord.
Hamas stated that it expects mediators and Trump’s Board of Peace to force Israel to respect the deal’s provisions, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Despite the October ceasefire, violence in Gaza persisted, as Israeli strikes killed at least four people—including two children—on Thursday, according to health officials.
The new deal requires all sides to suspend military activities immediately and establish an International Stabilisation Force to separate Israeli forces from NCAG-controlled regions.
Focus now on implementation
The Board of Peace verified in an X post that Hamas had “agreed to a detailed Roadmap for implementing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire”.
“Our focus now turns to implementation,” the organisation wrote, adding the NCAG will “soon begin a phased transition toward full authority”.
Under the roadmap, the NCAG will be responsible for internal security.
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said Friday the deal “took months of very difficult negotiations”.
“What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real,” Mladenov wrote on X.
“Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, referring to the Middle East conflict and its broader consequences, praised the accord as a rare positive development.
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Backstory…
The development marks a significant shift in the long-running Israel-Hamas conflict, which escalated dramatically after the October 7, 2023, attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Previous ceasefire and hostage negotiations brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar repeatedly stalled over disagreements on Hamas’ future role and demands for disarmament.
Read Also: Trump Declares ‘War Is Over’ as Hamas complete release of all remaining hostages
