President Donald Trump announced on Thursday an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas militants in Gaza — what he called a “monumental step” toward ending conflict in the region.
Under the agreement — another phase of a ceasefire plan he unveiled last fall — Israeli forces will withdraw as Hamas completes the disarmament process, Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said Palestinians would work closely with the Board of Peace, which was established in January to oversee implementation of the peace plan, in hopes of moving toward “Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government.”
Israel and Hamas have not commented on the announcement, and it remains unclear if or how either party plans to honor the disarmament. The U.S. has been in close coordination with Israel “every step of the way,” administration and Board of Peace officials said Thursday, though Israel remains “very skeptical that Hamas will disarm.”
In January, the Trump administration created the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a transitional leadership body that calls itself a “technocratic, and apolitical Palestinian committee.” This agreement is a key step for the region to eventually be led by a new Palestinian government, which Trump says will work closely with the Board of Peace.
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“Hamas and factions will hand over their weapons to the NCAG and to the NCAG police forces, who will be responsible for collecting them, itemizing them and effectively controlling them,” the officials said.
The timetable for the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces still needs to be finalized, the officials said. The process of disarming smaller militia groups in Gaza, which are generally less structured and have more fragmented leadership, needs to happen before Hamas’ weapons can be fully decommissioned, the officials said.
“Our intention is to hold Israel to its commitments as well, and to make sure we can be a fair broker here,” the officials said.
Hamas and Israel agreed to the deployment of the International Stabilization Force, the United Nations-mandated peacekeeping body introduced through a U.S.-backed framework accepted last October. The troops, whose Gaza operations Israel approved this week, will train and work with a new Palestinian police force to help maintain security in the region while supporting the NCAG’s efforts to decommission weapons in Gaza.
Trump said the agreement honors both Israel and Gaza’s security concerns.
“Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks,” Trump wrote on Thursday.
Trump’s Board of Peace has faced criticism in the international community. The organization’s charter gives the president broad authority as chairman of the board.
“The Board of Peace has been authorized by the Security Council for its work on Gaza. Strictly for that,” United Nations spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York in January.
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