Hamas has agreed to a United States-backed roadmap aimed at ending the war in Gaza, accepting a plan that includes the gradual surrender of its weapons to a Palestinian governing committee and the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.
The agreement, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, marks a significant step in ongoing efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire and establish a new governing structure for Gaza.
According to Hamas officials, the National Committee for Administration of Gaza (NCAG), operating under the oversight of Trump’s Board of Peace, will supervise the collection and storage of the group’s weapons as part of a phased implementation process.
Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ negotiating team, said the movement accepted the arrangement to ease the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
“We are making concessions for the sake of our people in the Gaza Strip, to save them from killing and displacement,” Hamad said, adding that Israel would have no role in overseeing Hamas’ disarmament.
Trump described Hamas’ “complete disarmament” as a crucial requirement for rebuilding Gaza’s governance. He said Israeli troops would withdraw once the process begins, while an International Stabilization Force and a newly established Palestinian police force would assume responsibility for maintaining security.
The Board of Peace confirmed that Hamas had accepted a detailed roadmap for implementing the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire, stating that attention would now shift to putting the agreement into effect.
“Our focus now turns to implementation,” the organisation said in a statement, noting that the NCAG would soon begin a phased transition toward assuming full administrative authority in Gaza.
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s High Representative for Gaza, said the agreement followed months of difficult negotiations but stressed that successful implementation would be the real test.
“Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning,” Mladenov wrote, emphasizing the need for strict verification of compliance by all parties.
Despite the breakthrough, Israel has not formally endorsed the proposal. An Israeli political source said the roadmap does not adequately address Israel’s long-standing demand for the complete demilitarisation of Gaza.
The source insisted that Israel expects the total removal of Hamas’ weapons, military infrastructure, tunnels and arms production facilities before any permanent political arrangement can move forward.
The same source also dismissed reports that Gaza was discussed during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent meeting with President Trump in Washington, saying the issue “did not come up at all.”
Meanwhile, Egypt is expected to host a fresh round of talks involving the United States, Qatar and Turkey to discuss implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire roadmap.
A diplomatic source involved in the negotiations said the agreement envisions “one authority, one law, one weapon,” with no exemptions for individuals or armed groups. The roadmap also includes a verification mechanism designed to monitor compliance by both Hamas and Israel.
Although a ceasefire has been in effect since October, violence has continued in parts of Gaza. Local health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes killed at least four people, including two children, on Thursday, underscoring the fragile security situation even as diplomatic efforts intensify.
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