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US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Hamas would give up its weapons in what would be a major step forward in a fragile ceasefire with Israel.
“A lot of people said they’ll never disarm. It looks like they’re going to disarm,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting.
Trump hailed cooperation with Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the United States, after Israeli forces brought back the remains from the last hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili.
“They did help us with those bodies, getting them back, and that family is so grateful,” Trump said.
But the Gaza-based group has not confirmed the disarmament.
Trump had asked for an update on the Middle East from his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who appeared confident that Hamas would surrender its weapons.
“We’ve got the terrorists out of there and they’re going to demilitarise. They will because they have no choice,” Witkoff said.
“They’re going to give it up. They’re going to give up the AK-47s,” he told Trump.
Hamas has said that the return of Gvili’s body showed its commitment to the ceasefire but it has so far not surrendered its weapons.
The group has repeatedly said disarmament is a red line but it has also suggested it would be open to handing over its weapons to a Palestinian governing authority.
Disarmament is a key part in the second phrase of the ceasefire plan sealed in October.
A Palestinian technocratic committee has also been set up with a goal of taking over governance in the battered Gaza Strip.
The US said last week that it was moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan that also includes rebuilding Gaza and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs under American supervision.
Witkoff said in a post on X that the ceasefire deal that Trump helped broker was entering its second phase following two years of war between Israel and Hamas, including the establishment of a technocratic government in Gaza.
“We are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President’s 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarisation, technocratic governance, and reconstruction,” Witkoff said.
But Witkoff did not offer any details about who would serve on the new transitional Palestinian administration that would govern Gaza.
The technocratic committee that Witkoff said would be established under the second phase will be tasked with providing public services to the more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, but it faces towering challenges and unanswered questions, including about its operations and financing.
The United Nations has estimated that reconstruction of the Strip will cost more than $50 billion (€42 billion), a process expected to take years and little money has been pledged so far.
Additional sources • AP, AFP