Hamas Accepts Disarmament Road Map, but Israel Has Yet to Agree

A breakthrough built on reciprocal steps

Hamas said Friday that it had accepted a road map to relinquish its weapons, a potentially consequential turn in efforts to end the Gaza war. The plan links phased disarmament to an Israeli military withdrawal and a transfer of authority to a Palestinian technocratic administration, but Israel has not formally accepted it.news4jax +1

President Donald Trump announced the framework Thursday as part of the second phase of his 20-point ceasefire plan. Under the proposal, an international stabilization force and a reconstituted Palestinian police service would assume security duties as Hamas gives up arms and Israeli forces pull back.npr +1

The sequence remains the central dispute

The agreement would first transfer police weapons to the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. Heavy weapons, production sites and tunnels would then be decommissioned or placed in storage after the committee and international force deploy, with those steps tied to Israel's withdrawal.news4jax +1 One U.S. official estimated that the broader process could take 200 to 350 days, while the committee may not enter Gaza for at least two months.news4jax +1

That sequencing preserves the conflict at the heart of months of negotiations. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said the group would not disarm until Israel ended attacks, increased aid flows and withdrew its forces under earlier ceasefire commitments.cnbc An Israeli official, meanwhile, said complete disarmament and demilitarization must precede any further process; far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly rejected any outcome short of destroying Hamas.theguardian

Implementation will decide whether the framework holds

The proposal faces practical gaps beyond the order of concessions. Members of the interim Palestinian administration have not yet entered Gaza, training for the new police force has not begun, and promised international troops have not deployed.theguardian The Washington Post reported that several countries had put troop commitments on hold, although a U.S. official said commitments for more than 5,000 personnel remained.washingtonpost

The stakes extend well beyond the negotiating table. Israel controls more than half of Gaza, where residents remain concentrated in damaged neighborhoods and tent camps.npr Gaza's health ministry says more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.news4jax +1 The new road map creates a mechanism for ending the deadlock, but its durability depends on verified, reciprocal action by parties that still disagree over who must move first.