Trump’s Board of Peace Announces Hamas Disarmament Deal, but Key Details Remain Unclear

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement with Hamas for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, calling it a “historic” and “monumental” breakthrough. A senior Hamas official confirmed the group had agreed to a roadmap for phased disarmament, but tied it explicitly to an Israeli troop withdrawal and an end to Israeli strikes — and Israel itself has not publicly confirmed or endorsed the deal.

What exactly did Hamas agree to?

According to a 14-point plan posted by the Board of Peace, Hamas agreed to decommission and store its heavy weapons, military production sites, weapons depots and tunnels, with the process to be “gradual, sequential and time-bound.” Crucially, Hamas insisted on language describing this as “inventorying and storing” weapons under Palestinian supervision — not surrendering them to Israel. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters and other outlets that the weapons would go to a new body called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a panel of Palestinian technocrats set up in Cairo back in January to eventually take over civil administration. Hamad said disarmament is contingent on Israel withdrawing its troops, halting attacks, and increasing the flow of aid and goods into Gaza, as required under last October’s ceasefire agreement.

What does the broader roadmap involve?

The plan calls for a 14-day window after all parties accept the roadmap to work out a detailed timetable. It envisions an International Verification Committee to monitor compliance, a new Palestinian police force, and an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would operate as a buffer between Israeli-controlled areas and NCAG-run territory. Nickolay Mladenov, the Bulgarian diplomat serving as the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said the agreement followed months of “very difficult negotiations” and stressed that “what happens next matters even more” than the text itself, calling for real implementation and verification. Trump credited Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as mediators, and said Israeli forces would pull out “as disarmament is completed.”

Has Israel actually agreed to this?

Israel has not issued an official response, and that absence is central to nearly every report. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately react. Trump told a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday that Israel is “very happy” about the deal and that he has “an understanding” with them, while also cautioning the agreement would “go through its ups and downs” before being finalized. A U.S. official told reporters the administration is confident Israel will honor the 20-point plan it originally agreed to, and that Trump would be “very disappointed” if Israel didn’t withdraw — but stopped short of saying Israel had made new commitments. The Guardian notes an Israeli far-right minister said the “only solution” was “encouraging emigration and destroying Hamas,” underscoring skepticism within the Israeli government about whether Hamas will genuinely disarm.

Why has disarmament been the sticking point for so long?

Hamas and Israel signed onto Trump’s ceasefire last October, which paused fighting and secured a hostage release, but left the harder issues — Hamas’s disarmament and Israel’s military withdrawal — for a second phase that stalled for months. Hamas had argued as recently as May that giving up weapons should be tied to a path toward Palestinian statehood. The new agreement follows Hamas’s own internal leadership elections, which installed Gaza-based leader Khalil al-Hayya at the head of the movement; Palestinian officials involved in the talks believe the new leadership was more willing to make what they call the most consequential decision in Hamas’s history, driven by dire humanitarian conditions facing more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.

How are Palestinians in Gaza reacting?

With little enthusiasm, according to the BBC. After repeated ceasefires and agreements that collapsed before, many Gazans say they care less about the details of the negotiations than whether this one will actually end the war, let displaced families return home, and bring lasting relief. Trust in both Hamas and Israel remains low. The announcement also came just a day after an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City and reports of Israeli forces displacing families and building new land barriers in Gaza — a reminder that fighting has continued even as the diplomatic track moved forward.

What’s the bigger picture?

The war began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages; Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, was set up as part of his 20-point plan and now includes roughly 40 countries — among them Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE as founding members — though the UK, France and China have held off joining over concerns tied to international law and the UN. If the disarmament plan holds, it could be the first time any militant group in Gaza has agreed to give up its weapons, potentially unlocking reconstruction of the territory and a transition to Palestinian civilian governance. But with no firm timetable, no Israeli confirmation, and a long history of collapsed agreements, several outlets caution it remains uncertain whether this framework will actually be implemented.

Sources

• The Guardian World
• France24
• Al Jazeera
• BBC World
• France24 (2)
• BBC World (2)
• The Guardian World (2)
• France24 (3)
• CBS News — CBS News · CBS News
• The Hill — The Hill · The Hill
• NPR — NPR · NPR
• CNBC