🔴 Donald Trump calls for an agreement on the "complete disarmament" of Hamas in Gaza

Less than three months before Israel’s legislative elections, skepticism persists among Israeli officials regarding a newly announced agreement aimed at disarming the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. The deal, described by U.S. President Donald Trump as “historic,” outlines a comprehensive plan involving the complete disarmament of Hamas, a gradual Israeli military withdrawal, and the deployment of international security forces to replace the Palestinian militant group in maintaining order. The agreement was formally announced on July 30, following nearly a year of negotiations over Trump’s peace plan for the Palestinian enclave. According to reports, the deal includes provisions for the establishment of a multinational stabilization force composed of troops from countries such as Morocco, Uganda, Kosovo, and Albania, alongside a new Palestinian police force made up of 2,000 Gazans tasked with ensuring security in place of Hamas. The full disarmament of Hamas is projected to take between 200 and 350 days, depending on the pace of implementation. High-ranking Hamas officials confirmed to AFP that an agreement had been reached concerning the issue of weapons and a progressive Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Negotiations have been ongoing in Egypt for weeks to implement the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect last October and aims to end the war definitively. This phase specifically targets the disarmament of Hamas, the Israeli military’s gradual retreat from Palestinian territory, and the deployment of the international stabilization force. Trump emphasized the significance of the deal through his social media platform, Truth Social, stating that the Peace Council he established for the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave had concluded a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. He called this a monumental step toward achieving lasting peace and security. Additionally, Trump noted that Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza as the disarmament process concludes. Hamas relies on mediators and the Peace Council to ensure Israel adheres to the terms of the agreement, according to sources within the movement. The International Stabilization Force, a nascent entity intended to bring together multinational troops under the auspices of the Peace Council, will subsequently collaborate with a new Palestinian police force to guarantee security in Gaza. A meeting of mediators, including Egypt, the United States, Qatar, and Turkey, is set to occur soon in Cairo, as reported by Al-Qahera News, an Egyptian state-aligned channel. According to a Hamas official, weapons must be handed over to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a body of Palestinian technocrats responsible for managing daily life in Gaza during the transitional period. The NCAG, currently based in Egypt, has been prevented by Israel from accessing the Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian and Palestinian media. Israel, which controls more than 60 percent of the territory, had insisted on the complete disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups before proceeding further with the roadmap. In early July, Hamas announced the dissolution of the committee that had administered civil affairs in Gaza since 2007, when the group took control of the coastal territory. It stated its intention to transfer these responsibilities to the NCAG. While the NCAG is presented as a temporary structure, several European and Arab officials stress the need for a broader political vision involving existing Palestinian institutions. Israel opposes any return of Hamas to power and currently rejects direct control of Gaza by the Palestine Authority, based in Ramallah. Egypt has long played the role of mediator between Palestinian armed groups and Israel, a role reinforced by the peace treaty linking Cairo to Israel. The unprecedented attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza, resulting in more than 73,300 deaths, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.