The Board of Pease, an initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump to stabilize and rebuild the Gaza Strip, is increasing pressure on Hamas. According to a report published Monday in The New York Times, the body has set a deadline for the group to agree to a disarmament framework in Gaza by the end of the coming week.
According to diplomatic officials involved in the talks, the international body established to oversee a ceasefire that has been in place for six months is demanding that Hamas commit to dismantling nearly all of its weapons arsenal and provide detailed maps of its underground tunnel network.
Footage from the terrorists attack in Gaza
(Video: IDF)
The move reflects both the U.S. administration’s desire to secure a stable, long-term ceasefire and growing impatience with Hamas, as the United States and Israel focus on additional fronts involving Iran and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
Representatives of the Board of Peace and Hamas are expected to meet in Cairo in an effort to finalize an agreement by the end of the week. However, officials familiar with the details said the deadline could still change.
According to internal Board of Peace documents, if a disarmament agreement is reached, IDF troops are expected to withdraw from most or all of the Gaza Strip, long-standing restrictions on the entry of essential goods would be lifted, armed operatives would receive amnesty and temporary housing units would be brought in for displaced residents.
The proposal was delivered to Hamas leadership by Nickolay Mladenov, a senior Board of Peace official on Gaza affairs. Mladenov also hinted over the weekend that refusal could carry serious consequences, writing, “Whoever does not cross the river will drown in the sea.”
At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would act to disarm Hamas by force if the group does not agree to do so as a part of an agreement. Hamas has continued to reject the demand. Abu Obeida, spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said the group would not agree to give up its weapons in negotiations when Israel had failed to achieve that goal on the battlefield. He added that discussing disarmament “in this way” is an attempt to continue harming Palestinians and called on Israel to first meet its commitments under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement.
Hamas has accused Israel of failing to uphold its obligations, particularly regarding what it describes as insufficient humanitarian aid entering Gaza and continued strikes despite the ceasefire. Over the weekend, Hamas leaders held talks in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Arab and Turkish officials are pressing the group to take a more pragmatic approach to the disarmament plan.
Within Hamas, however, some view disarmament as tantamount to surrender. Alongside diplomatic pressure, there are also internal dynamics in Gaza, where many residents, in light of widespread destruction, support an agreement that would allow reconstruction. International officials have made clear that rebuilding the territory and the flow of aid are contingent on Hamas’ disarmament.
For now, gaps between the sides remain wide, and the coming days could prove decisive for the future of a settlement in the Gaza Strip.