Trump announces Hamas disarmament deal, but key hurdles remain over sequencing and Israeli buy-in

President Trump announced Thursday that his Board of Peace had reached what he called a "historic" agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, describing it as a "monumental step toward lasting peace and security." The deal, which Trump outlined in a Truth Social post, builds on his earlier 20-Point Plan and envisions a phased transition to a new Palestinian government supported by an International Stabilization Force and a new Palestinian police force.

A copy of the agreement obtained by the Associated Press detailed a structured, multi-phase process: upon the arrival of the Palestinian technocratic committee in Gaza, police weapons are to be transferred to that body; decommissioning of heavy weapons, military production sites, and tunnels is to follow and would be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal. A Board of Peace official told reporters the heavy-weapons surrender process could take between 200 and 350 days, a timeline that did not appear in the written agreement obtained by AP.

Hamas confirmed the deal, with senior official Bassem Naim posting on X that the group agreed to the terms. However, a senior Hamas official separately told NPR the group would give up weapons only after Israel withdraws from Gaza first — a sequencing that conflicts with Israel's stated position. An Israeli official said Thursday, on condition of anonymity per government protocol, that Israel would not withdraw from the roughly 60% of Gaza it controls before Hamas disarms and the territory is demilitarized. Israel has not publicly commented on the deal and was not listed as a signatory; a person with knowledge of the situation told AP that Israel was consulted throughout negotiations but the agreement is between Hamas and the guarantor countries — the U.S., Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar.