Trump announces his Board of Peace reached ‘historic agreement’ to disarm Hamas in Gaza: ‘Monumental step’

President Trump announced Thursday that his Board of Peace has reached a “historic agreement” with Hamas that will result in the “complete disarmament” of the terror group in Gaza.

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“This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president indicated that “all other armed groups” in the Gaza Strip have also agreed to lay down their arms.

“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump continued. “At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”

Disarmament of Hamas marks “major milestone in the implementation” of the 20-point plan for peace in the region unveiled last September, the president said.

The deal was eight months in the making, according to US and Board of Peace officials.

“We’ve literally been discussing this with them all the way through today,” a Board of Peace official said, “and the final communication came through the mediators that Hamas has agreed to the final text.” 

Israel remains “very skeptical that Hamas will disarm,” a US official noted.

However, the official said the Israeli government is “not really being asked to do much in the process because this isn’t really a trust deal … it’s a conditions based deal.” 

“We’re not asking Israel to do anything other than agree to the 20-point plan that they agreed to initially, and so we’re very confident they will adhere to it,” the US official added. “If they don’t, obviously President Trump will be very, very disappointed.” 

Meanwhile, Hamas has warned that it won’t disarm if Israel “interferes” or refuses to withdraw from Gaza.

“Hamas will not implement any step of the Gaza peace deal if the Israeli occupation forces do not fulfil their obligations under the agreement,” Ghazi Hammad, a spokesman for the terror group, told Al Jazeera.

“Israel will not interfere in the disarmament issue, and the national committee is the one that will carry out this task,” Hammad added.

A US official confirmed that Iran attempted to meddle during negotiations in an effort to keep Hamas from disarming.

“Iran did try to convince them not to do this deal, but ultimately we were able to overcome that,” the official said.

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The official noted that under the 20-point plan Hamas is only eligible for amnesty if it disarms.

“Iran abandoned Hamas a while ago,” the official said. “They can’t afford to to keep them going, and I think Hamas realized that they have to do what’s best for themselves and for the people.”

“The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases,” according to Trump.

Once disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw from the strip 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.”

Hamas’ extensive network of tunnels must also be disclosed and destroyed under the terms of the agreement. 

A Board of Peace official estimated that it may take “somewhere between about 200 days to about 350 days” to decommission all the weapons Hamas and Gaza militias possess. 

The phased process will see Gaza cleared of weapons and deemed ready for reconstruction on a “sector by sector” basis. 

The Board of Peace official explained that the disarming of the militias will come first.  

“When we’re talking about militias, we’re talking about groups that have weapons that they’ve acquired over a recent period, while with Hamas, we’re looking at an organization that has an almost a state-like army structure, with tunnels, with production facilities — capabilities that go well beyond what is a militant group.” 

The process of disarming Hamas “will take more time and it needs to be done in a much more careful and detailed manner,” the Board of Peace official added. 

Trump thanked his team of negotiators as well as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey for their work on the “historic breakthrough.”

“The threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild!” the president vowed.

He added, “Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE.”

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