Trump Says Hamas Agreed to Disarm in Gaza, but Sequencing Fight Clouds the Deal

Today’s Focus

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that mediators had secured an agreement calling for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and every other armed faction operating in Gaza. He described the deal in a Truth Social post as a “HISTORIC” breakthrough and a “monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” according to Fox News.

Trump credited the Board of Peace, a Trump-backed governing body created under his 20-point ceasefire framework, with brokering the arrangement. Fox News reported that Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye acted as international mediators.

The agreement builds on a US-brokered ceasefire signed last year between Israel and Hamas, The Guardian reported. Talks had stalled over the ceasefire’s second phase, which covers Hamas disarmament and the reconstruction of the territory after more than two years of fighting.

Trump’s framework asks the Iran-backed group to give up its weapons and dismantle its tunnel network. It also calls for Israeli troops to leave Gaza, the installation of a technocratic Palestinian government, an international security force, and rebuilding efforts, according to The Guardian.

A senior Hamas official confirmed to the BBC that the group had accepted the Board of Peace plan. Israel had not commented as of Thursday.

A dispute over timing surfaced immediately. “We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip,” Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas negotiating team, told Al Jazeera.

The Debate

Supporters argue

Trump framed the agreement as the decisive move toward ending the war. He said Gaza would finally be “governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace,” while Israel gains “the security it deserves,” according to Fox News and The Guardian.

Backers of the framework contend that removing Hamas’s arsenal is the precondition for any durable settlement. The BBC reported that if the disarmament plan holds, it could remove the single largest obstacle blocking the broader Trump-backed peace initiative.

Fox News described the announcement as a diplomatic breakthrough delivered through coordinated pressure from Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye. Supporters point to that regional buy-in as evidence the deal rests on more than one government’s word.

For proponents, the agreement validates the sequencing laid out in the 20-point plan: disarm the militants, seat a technocratic administration, deploy an international force, and rebuild. They argue the alternative is a return to open-ended conflict with no political horizon.

Critics argue

Skeptics note the deal already faces a fundamental disagreement over sequence. Hamad’s statement to Al Jazeera made clear the group will not lay down arms before Israeli forces leave, a condition Israel has not agreed to.

The Guardian reported that briefings from both sides exposed disputes over implementation that “could prove difficult to overcome.” Critics see that gap as a sign the announcement outpaces the actual terms.

Israel’s silence compounds the doubt. The BBC noted that while a senior Hamas official confirmed acceptance, Israel had offered no comment, leaving one of the two central parties unaccounted for in Trump’s declaration.

Opponents also question whether Hamas can or will fully dismantle its tunnel network and hand over weapons, given that the first phase of the ceasefire itself remained largely deadlocked. They argue that declaring a “complete” agreement before the parties agree on order and verification risks setting up another collapse.

What the experts say

Analysts tracking the conflict caution that the hardest part of any ceasefire is enforcement, not announcement. The BBC’s assessment stressed that the plan could mark “the first credible step” to ending the war only “if successful,” underscoring how much remains unresolved.

Independent monitoring of prior Middle East ceasefires shows why sequencing matters. Disarmament arrangements typically require phased, verifiable steps and third-party inspection, mechanisms the current announcement has not spelled out publicly.

The Board of Peace itself is new and largely untested as a governing institution, and questions about its authority and composition remain open, as The New York Times noted in its explainer on the body.

Historically, the involvement of regional guarantors such as Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye has been a common feature of Gaza truce efforts, though it has not previously produced full disarmament. Whether this framework overcomes that record depends on details, including who verifies compliance and in what order, that the parties have not yet reconciled.

By the Numbers

20: the number of points in Trump’s ceasefire framework, which calls for Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, a new Palestinian government and reconstruction, according to The Guardian.

3: the international mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, credited by Fox News with helping broker the agreement.

2+: years of war in Gaza preceding the disarmament announcement, according to The Guardian.

1: the US-brokered ceasefire signed last year whose second phase remained deadlocked before this agreement, per The Guardian.

0: public comments from Israel on the deal as of Thursday, according to the BBC.

1: senior Hamas official who confirmed the group’s acceptance of the Board of Peace plan to the BBC.