🔻What We Know—and Don’t Know—About Hamas’s Disarmament Plan

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that an agreement for the “full disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza has been reached, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

What we know about it:

▪ Trump said the agreement was achieved by his “Peace Council” and described it as a “vital step toward the final administration of Gaza by a new Palestinian state.”

▪ The four-page roadmap of this plan, which the BBC has seen, includes the phased disarmament of Hamas and the gradual disarmament of Israel. U.S. officials say that each stage of this process will be “verified.”

▪ A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group has agreed to the aforementioned plan, but no official statement from the group has yet been issued.

▪ According to a U.S. official, if Israel does not leave Gaza, Trump will be “very disappointed.”

What we don’t know about this disarmament:

▪ Israel’s position regarding this agreement—or whether they took part in the negotiations—is unclear. Since the announcement was made by Trump, we have not heard any comments from Israeli officials.

▪ How the Israeli withdrawal will be carried out, or whether this withdrawal will also include the so-called “yellow line” buffer zone, is unclear.

▪ It is not clear who will be responsible for keeping the weapons that Hamas is supposed to hand over under the agreement.

▪ How this mechanism and its “verification,” as proposed by the United States, will be implemented is unclear.

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