Hamas said it will not hand over its weapons unless Israel first stops its attacks in Gaza, withdraws its forces to where they stood in October, and increases the flow of goods and aid into the enclave. That condition sits at the center of a 15-point framework published on 31 July 2026 and drafted with US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace. The language is bureaucratic, the machinery is familiar, and the people trapped beneath it are still the ones paying the bill.
The State's Monopoly
Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official, called the agreement a "comprehensive framework" and said it went beyond disarmament. He said Hamas had insisted to mediators that Israel must abide by the agreement first. Only then, he said, would Hamas agree to hand over its weapons to the new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, the technocratic body set up to run the enclave.
The unpublished agreement says Hamas and other Palestinian factions would not hand Gaza's weapons to Israel. Instead, it places them under the control of the National Committee. The text says, "No weapons will be transferred or surrendered to Israel or any non-Palestinian parties," and says that by the end of the disarmament process, "the National Committee alone shall retain, store, or control weapons in Gaza." It also says the National Committee, as the transitional authority in Gaza, will be the sole authority for registering weapons, issuing and revoking licenses, and enforcing the law, and that all factions, clans and elements of Palestinian society in Gaza shall cooperate with it.
That is the old trick with a new label. One authority. One law. One weapon. The agreement says exactly that. Gaza, under this framework, is not being handed to freedom. It is being handed to another administrative center with a monopoly over force, paperwork, and compliance.
The Board, the Force, the Filter
The document says the transition from one phase to the next will depend on the verified completion of the previous phase's obligations, with an International Verification Committee responsible for certification. It says the inventory and collection of militia weapons and their storage under the authority of the National Committee will take place according to an agreed-upon timeline, and that personnel from those militias will not be absorbed into the security apparatuses or police. It also says the National Committee will be responsible for handling internal security incidents.
The International Stabilization Force, meanwhile, will not perform policing duties, tasks related to Palestinian society, ceasefire enforcement or training of Palestinian police. It will instead monitor compliance by all parties, the flow of humanitarian and essential needs into Gaza, and any non-policing tasks requested by the National Committee. The force gets to watch. It does not police. It does not govern. It does not solve the problem it helps manage.
The governance section sets a financial ceiling of $400 million for legitimate obligations toward suppliers, contractors and other parties, to be implemented gradually over three years according to priorities determined by the National Committee. Any unresolved financial rights, liabilities or claims are to be addressed later in a broader national process. Gaza, in other words, gets a budget line, a timetable, and a committee. The rest can wait.
Who Gets to Call It Peace
US President Donald Trump said the Board of Peace would be the one to collect Hamas's weapons as the group begins to disarm. He said, "It's going to be run by the Board of Peace. This Board of Peace has been amazing. It's led by some amazing people," after a reporter asked who would take possession of the weapons. Trump also said he has "an understanding with Israel" and that "Israel is very happy about it."
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was less polished. He said the draft agreement published by the "Peace Council" was not acceptable to Israel and wrote, "The targeted killings in Gaza must continue, encouraging emigration must happen, Israel must win." That is the other face of the same state logic: one side speaks in the language of boards and verification, the other in the language of killing, expulsion and victory. The civilians underneath get both.
Ghazi Hamad told Reuters that Hamas would retain its weapons until Israel halted its attacks, allowed more aid and goods into Gaza, and withdrew its forces. Hamas said on Friday that any agreement for "complete disarmament" of Palestinian factions in Gaza depends on Washington and Israel honouring commitments made under the 10 October ceasefire deal. The framework, then, is not a clean handoff. It is a bargaining table built on rubble, with armed authorities on every side demanding compliance from the people they claim to represent.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 73,341 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and another 174,086 Palestinians had been wounded. Those numbers sit under every sentence about phased withdrawal, verification, and orderly administration. They are the ledger the institutions prefer to keep in the background.
Saudi Arabia called the Board of Peace announcement "historic" and said the Kingdom commended President Trump's leadership and steadfast commitment. It said the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the deployment of the International Stabilization Force and the continued, unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance and reconstruction support were important. Kaja Kallas, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called the developments "constructive" and said, "A lot needs to fall in place for this to work. Success depends on the full commitment of all parties. Verifying Hamas’ compliance will be a significant challenge. Israel would need to eventually withdraw from Gaza."
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he "welcomes" the news of disarmament along with Israeli withdrawal and praised the mediating countries including the United States of America, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye. Canada called the disarmament announcement "an important step," and Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada remained committed to a just and lasting resolution based on a negotiated two-state solution.
The diplomats call it progress. The committees call it governance. The armed men call it security. The people in Gaza still live under the same system of control, only with better branding.