Hamas says Trump’s Gaza disarmament proposal depends on Israel

An agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas in Gaza can only be agreed if the U.S. and Israel honor past commitments they have made, an official with the group said Friday.

President Donald Trump said at a Cabinet meeting later Friday that Israel is “very happy” about the deal, but cautioned that it will likely “go through its ups and downs” before it is finalized.

“I have an understanding with Israel,” Trump said during the meeting at Camp David when asked if he has received assurances from Tel Aviv.

“Israel helped us, and they’ve been very good. They’ve been very good about it,” Trump said.

The comments at Camp David came a day after Trump said the U.S.-led Board of Peace has reached an agreement to disarm Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, a step he cast as a breakthrough in implementing his 20-point plan to end the Iran war and install a new Palestinian government.

“This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza “as disarmament is completed,” he said, with an International Stabilization Force working alongside a new Palestinian police force to secure the territory.

Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said the group would not disarm until Israel ended its attacks in Gaza, increased the flow of goods and aid, and pulled back its forces, per a ceasefire agreement reached last year.

“We insisted to the mediators that Israel must abide by the agreement,” he said.

If implemented, the proposal would mark a breakthrough in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, potentially paving the way for reconstruction of the devastated enclave. Throughout the war that began in late February, Trump has also repeatedly said the U.S. and Iran are on the brink of an agreement to end the war.

But the lack of clear confirmation from all involved parties leaves room for uncertainty. Trump’s claim that a Gaza deal is in hand also echoes his repeated insistence that the U.S. is on the brink of victory in Iran, which has now stretched past five months with no end in sight.

Disarming Hamas has been the central obstacle in the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which also covers Gaza’s reconstruction. Hamas and Israel signed on to Trump’s ceasefire deal last October, and the Board of Peace was established to oversee demilitarization, deploy a multinational stabilization force and secure an Israeli withdrawal.

Talks stalled for months as Hamas attached extensive conditions to giving up its arsenal, and the group argued in May that any handover of weapons must be tied to a framework culminating in Palestinian statehood.

Israel has not responded to Trump’s announcement. CNBC has reached out to Hamas, and the governments of Qatar, Egypt and Israel for comment.

The roadmap discussed in Cairo would transfer authority in phases to the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza under the principle of “one authority, one law, one weapon,” including the elimination of tunnels, arms stockpiles, and weapons production facilities.

Trump also thanked the mediators and said the threat that emerged from Gaza on Oct. 7 “will NOT be allowed to rebuild.”