World reacts with cautious optimism to Hamas disarmament agreement

Published 31 July 2026 · world

Deal for Hamas to disarm in stages in return for Israeli withdrawal has been announced, but implementation will be key. Palestinian group Hamas has announced

Deal for Hamas to disarm in stages in return for Israeli withdrawal has been announced, but implementation will be key. Palestinian group Hamas has announced that it has agreed to a deal aimed at fully ending Israel’s war on Gaza, which has inflicted death and destruction on the enclave for nearly three years. The agreement, which was confirmed on Thursday and Friday by the United States and other mediators, requires Hamas to make provisions to disarm and surrender its weapons in stages. Meanwhile, Israel would withdraw its forces. The agreement was announced late on Thursday by President Donald Trump, after the US-led Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force for Gaza announced that mediators from Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the US had finalised a roadmap for moving on to the next phase of the ceasefire. A truce deal was struck last October, but has failed to halt the hostilities, albeit the violence has been scaled back. Trump heralded the deal as “a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza” and “a monumental step toward lasting peace and security”. However, given the failure of the first phase of the ceasefire, and the deep mistrust between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, concern regarding the likely implementation of the agreement, and the potential for it to end the violence, is rife. Here’s how the world and the key players have reacted United States Trump framed the agreement as the turning point of his 20-point plan introduced last year, writing on Truth Social that it was “a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace”. “Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks,” he declared.

“Most people said that would be a deal that would be undoable. Now, will it go through its ups and downs? It’s a very complex situation over there,” he said, adding that Israel is “very happy” with the agreement. Israel The Israeli government had made no official response by Friday evening. Far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the draft as “unacceptable to Israel,” and labelled the required commitment “to stop the assassinations” of Hamas members as “tantamount to agreeing to Hamas organising for the next massacre” – a reference to the October 2023 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the killing of 1,200 people, with 240 taken captive. “The assassinations in Gaza must continue, the encouragement of immigration must happen, Israel must win,” Ben-Gvir declared. army chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, a leading contender to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the draft peace plan shows the “outrageous gap” between what the premier promised and reality. “The State of Israel must not accept a reality in which Hamas survives, rearms and waits for the opportunity to carry out the next massacre,” he wrote on social media. Hamas has insisted that disarmament will depend on Israel ending hostilities and pulling back from Gaza. “The occupation’s commitment to halting the killing is the fundamental prerequisite for proceeding with implementing and establishing a timeline for what has been agreed upon,” the group said. It said the entry of the Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the deployment of an international stabilisation force, and the disbanding of Israeli-backed militias were all necessary conditions. Negotiator Ghazi Hamad told Al Jazeera the deal was a “comprehensive package” rather than a straightforward weapons handover, that will encompass an end to Israel’s offensive, a full troop withdrawal, the deployment of the Committee and international forces, and reconstruction.