US President Donald Trump announced that the Board of Peace has reached what he hailed as a “historic deal” on Thursday to disarm Hamas and all other armed groups and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but questions remained over conditions and timeline.
The deal, described by Trump in a post on Truth Social as a “monumental step”, comes nine months after a US-brokered ceasefire was signed to end Israel’s two year offensive on the enclave, signed in October last year in Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh.
“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” wrote Trump.
“At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas had largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza. Neither Hamas nor Israel gave immediate indication that they have agreed to the deal.
The US president says the deal will put to action the implementation of his 20-point peace plan in “carefully structured phases”.
Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on the Gaza-based group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, led by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will lead Gaza’s rebuilding efforts.
Once disarmament is complete, Trump said Israel will then withdraw its forces out of the territory and hand over policing duties to a new “International Stabilisation Force”, which will work alongside Palestinian police to safekeep Gaza.
Rumoured timeline
US and Board of Peace officials, describing the deal to reporters on condition of anonymity under guidelines set by the White House, gave an extremely optimistic assessment of the agreement.
The officials were unable to offer specific timelines for the disarmament of Hamas or other groups that operate in Gaza, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but said the Gaza police force would turn over weapons to the technocratic Board of Peace-backed Gaza administration in the next two weeks.
The Gaza police force, however, does not include the vast majority of Hamas militants and heavy weaponry is not included in that part of the agreement, according to the officials.
Instead, the surrender of heavy weapons and the decommissioning of Hamas tunnels and other infrastructure are to come later in a process that could take between 200 and 350 days, a Board of Peace official said.
Israel remains sceptical
A US official said Israel, which has been deeply sceptical about Hamas’ willingness to give up its guns or relinquish at least behind-the-scenes control of Gaza, had been consulted at every step of the negotiation.
However, the official said Israel was not being asked to do anything more than what it had initially committed to when it agreed to Trump’s 20-point plan, which essentially involves withdrawing its forces from Gaza and committing to ending airstrikes on the territory.
The official added that Trump would be “very, very disappointed” if Israel didn’t adhere to the agreement.
The US president reiterated in his post on social media that not allowing Hamas to possess the strength it once did to pose a threat to Israel, remains a central part of the deal, adding that the new government will work to represent and serve its people.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which started in response to Hamas’ 7 October, 2023 incursion into southern Israel, killed at least 73,000 Palestinians, according to medical sources in the territory, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House on Tuesday, but neither said much about what was discussed in their first face-to-face meeting since jointly launching the war against Iran.
Hamas announced earlier this month that it had dissolved its government in the enclave and was preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of the ceasefire deal.
The Israeli Defence Forces currently control more than half of Gaza, leaving Palestinians confined to squalid tent camps and heavily damaged urban neighbourhoods. The UN has repeatedly warned of dire living conditions across Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect.