Hamas says it will disarm if Israel halts strikes and withdraws from
Gaza, but obstacles remain
[August 01, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY, SAM MEDNICK, JONATHAN J. COOPER and MATTHEW
LEE
CAIRO (AP) — Hamas said Friday that it will begin disarming as part of a
deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump that also requires Israel
to end its strikes and withdraw from Gaza. It marks a potential
breakthrough in ending the war, but implementation faces major
challenges.
Hamas also said that laying down its heavy weapons, which would come
later in the process, was contingent on the creation of a Palestinian
state, something Israel's current government adamantly rejects.
Israel has not officially commented on the deal, which is part of a
U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced last October. That agreement called
for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian
administration. Israel was to withdraw, and an International
Stabilization Force was to deploy.
But progress stalled, with Israel saying everything hinged on Hamas
disarming, and Hamas accusing Israel of violating the agreement by
continuing to carry out regular strikes on Gaza.
Expectations of implementation are low
Disarming would represent a sea change for Hamas, whose founding charter
calls for armed resistance against Israel, and which sees its arsenal,
including rockets, anti-tank missiles and explosives, as lying at the
heart of its identity.
Israel, meanwhile, appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or
make other concessions ahead of its October elections. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tough reelection battle, with opponents
accusing him of failing to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that
triggered the war.
Neil Quilliam, a Middle East expert at London’s Chatham House think
tank, said expectations are low that Hamas will actually disarm or that
Israel will withdraw from Gaza.
“I think that Netanyahu’s silence speaks volumes,’’ Quilliam said. “This
is a massive decision that he has to make.”
“But with the prospect of the elections hanging over his head, with
several Cabinet ministers and opposition leaders already counseling not
to go ahead with the deal, I think he understands that doing so would
likely scupper his chances of reelection,” he added.
The deal would be implemented in stages
In announcing the latest deal on social media, Trump said it would be
carried out in “carefully structured phases.”
“As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the
International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian
police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its
residents and its neighbors,” he wrote.
A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by The Associated Press
said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred
to the U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the
National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in
the enclave. It’s not clear when that would happen since it is
contingent on other steps.
A process to decommission and store heavy weapons, military production
sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian
committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will
be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement.
Israel currently controls around 60% of Gaza, areas that have been
mostly destroyed and depopulated. Most of the territory's 2 million
Palestinians are in the other part, where hundreds of thousands live in
squalid tent camps and destroyed neighborhoods.
In a statement Thursday, an Israeli official said that there will be no
Israeli withdrawal before the militant group is disarmed and the strip
demilitarized. The statement was made on condition of anonymity in line
with government protocol.
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Palestinian walk by the rubble of buildings that were destroyed
during the Israel Hamas war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip,
Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A person with knowledge of the situation said that Israel is fully
involved, but it's not a signatory to the deal, which is between
Hamas and several countries helping to negotiate and guarantee the
ceasefire. The person spoke on condition of anonymity in order to
discuss the agreement. The deal's guarantors are the U.S., Turkey,
Egypt and Qatar.
It could take years for Hamas to disarm
On Thursday, U.S. 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. The board was
established by Trump to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza.
While Gaza's police force is expected to hand over its arms, that
doesn't 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. That timeline did not appear in the agreement
obtained by AP.
A Hamas official and a regional official involved in the process
said that Hamas and other groups agreed to “collect and store” arms
inside Gaza under the supervision of the Palestinian technocratic
committee and that weapons won’t be handed to Israel or
non-Palestinian parties.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to brief the media, said this would be a gradual
process linked to an Israeli withdrawal.
Israel has been deeply skeptical
A U.S. official said Israel, which has been deeply skeptical about
Hamas’ willingness to give up its guns or relinquish control of
Gaza, had been consulted at every step of the negotiation. The
official said Israel was not being asked to do anything more than
what it had committed to as part of the October agreement.
A member of the Palestinian technocratic committee told the AP on
Friday that it was eager to enter Gaza but was concerned Israel will
pose challenges. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to speak to the media. The person said they
didn’t expect to enter Gaza for at least two months.
The committee welcomed the progress Friday, but said the work to
restore public institutions and services and rebuild the territory
would be immense.
The war in Gaza began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on
Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000
Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s
Health Ministry said. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led
government and is staffed by medical professionals, does not
distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says
women and children make up around half of all deaths.
___
Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, Cooper from Phoenix, and Lee
from Washington. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in New
York, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Danica Kirka in
London contributed.
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