U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 30th (local time) that he reached a deal to completely disarm all armed groups in the Gaza Strip, including the Palestinian militant faction Hamas. With a concrete blueprint laid out for establishing a new Palestinian government to govern Gaza and deploying an international stabilization force, major ripples are expected for the Middle East landscape ahead.
According to a compilation of major outlets including Al Jazeera and The Times of Israel on the 30th, Trump said that a peace committee he leads "secured an agreement to disarm armed groups such as Hamas."
The disarmament agreement was dramatically sealed on the 30th with signatures from Hamas, the peace committee, and negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye. It is a follow-up measure in the extension of the cease-fire talks that Trump mediated in Oct. to end the Gaza war. Hamas, a key party to the talks, has not yet issued an official position.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on the 30th that "this agreement is an important step forward, as a new Palestinian government, working closely with the peace committee to help the Palestinian people, will finally govern the Gaza Strip." He added, "At the same time, Israel will secure the security it rightfully deserves, as the Gaza Strip will no longer be used as a base for terror attacks."
He also called the deal a major milestone in carrying out Trump's 20-point peace plan. Trump said, "Once disarmament is complete, the Israeli military will withdraw, and an international stabilization force, working with the new Palestinian police units, will be responsible for making the Gaza Strip a safe place for residents and neighboring countries." He continued, "We have made historic progress," and "we will never allow the threat that erupted in Gaza on Oct. 7 to be rebuilt."
Still, some noted that, contrary to the U.S. administration's optimistic outlook, it is unclear whether a deal has actually been sealed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement the same day that "the 15-point disarmament proposal presented by the peace committee does not meet Israel's conditions demanding the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip." Israel has faced criticism for continuing to control cross-border movement while causing Palestinian casualties even after the earlier cease-fire agreement.