A Palestinian militant sporting the uniform of the al-Qassam Brigades, the army wing of Hamas, Oct. 15, 2025.
Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg through Getty Photos
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Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg through Getty Photos
SHEFFIELD, U.Okay., and JERUSALEM — Mediators have given Hamas a proper proposal to put down its weapons, a senior U.S. official informed NPR. The proposal requires Hamas and all different militant teams in Gaza handy over all weapons, making an rising governing authority accountable for all arms.
The demilitarization proposal was handed over to Hamas final week in Cairo, a further official within the area stated.
A 3rd particular person briefed on the proposal referred to as it a complete framework to make sure the “complete handover” and “full decommissioning” of arms belonging to Hamas and all different armed teams in Gaza, and that if Hamas accepts the proposal, it could guarantee large-scale reconstruction of Gaza.
The particular person stated Hamas has been requested to answer the proposal in a couple of weeks time, after the Muslim Eid vacation. Senior Hamas officers didn’t instantly remark, and one Hamas official denied having acquired a proposal.
Hamas and Israel signed on to President Trump’s ceasefire deal final October, in an effort to finish two years of conflict which have devastated Gaza and triggered conflicts throughout the Center East.
Trump’s Board of Peace was established to supervise efforts to demilitarize Hamas, set up a multinational stabilization drive for Gaza and guarantee an Israeli army withdrawal from the territory. Hamas officers stated they have been keen to debate their weapons however had been ready for a proper proposal from mediators.
The work of the Board of Peace has been largely placed on maintain, nonetheless, because the U.S. and Israel launched the conflict in opposition to Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a brand new regional battle that has engulfed greater than a dozen international locations.
The members of the brand new Palestinian transitional committee tasked to run postwar Gaza have nonetheless not entered the territory, and no new Palestinian police drive or multinational drive has been shaped.
Regardless of the delicate truce settlement, Israeli forces have killed a whole lot of Palestinians, most of them civilians, in accordance with Gaza well being authorities. Israel says the assaults focused Hamas militants. A number of Israeli troopers have additionally been killed in assaults by militants.
Robert Danin, a former senior U.S. State Division and White Home official specializing within the Center East, stated it was unlikely Hamas can be in any hurry to ship its response to the demilitarization proposal or conform to it.
“Hamas sees time as being on its side right now,” Danin stated. “With each passing day, its influence and control on the ground in Gaza strengthens and expands, particularly as long as the Board of Peace’s proposed alternative governance structures and forces for Gaza remain stuck outside of the strip. So the longer Hamas can prolong this status quo, the stronger it sees its hand growing for any day after.”
Danin stated the distraction attributable to the conflict with Iran would additionally doubtless draw consideration away from pressuring Hamas.
“This means that for the Board of Peace and those seeking to disarm Hamas, the key question is what tools does it have to see Hamas adopt this plan?” he stated.
The Gaza conflict started on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a shock assault on southern Israel, killing round 1,200 folks, in accordance with Israel. Israel’s large army response killed greater than 70,000 folks in Gaza and left the coastal enclave in ruins, in accordance with Palestinian well being officers.
Regardless of the delicate ceasefire settlement, over the past six months Israeli forces have killed a whole lot of Palestinians, most of them civilians, in accordance with Gaza well being authorities, in what Israel says have been assaults concentrating on Hamas militants. A number of Israeli troopers have additionally been killed in assaults by militants.
