Trump Says Israel 'Very Happy' With Hamas Disarmament Plan As Netanyahu Stays Mum
Trump Says Israel 'Very Happy' With Hamas Disarmament Plan As Netanyahu Stays Mum Published By, Last Updated: August 01, 2026, 04:23 IST Speaking to reporters
Trump Says Israel 'Very Happy' With Hamas Disarmament Plan As Netanyahu Stays Mum Published By, Last Updated: August 01, 2026, 04:23 IST Speaking to reporters at Camp David, Trump said Washington had reached an understanding with Israel over the proposal. US President Donald Trump and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu | File photo credit: AFP US President Donald Trump on Friday claimed Israel was “very happy" with a Gaza deal brokered by his ‘Board of Peace’ that calls for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has yet to officially endorse the plan. Speaking to reporters at Camp David, Trump said Washington had reached an understanding with Israel over the proposal. “We do have an understanding with Israel," he said. “Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us, and they’ve been very good," he added. Calling the agreement a breakthrough, Trump said, “Will it go through its ups and downs? It’s a very complex situation over there… But it’s a great breakthrough.
Nobody’s ever thought that it would be possible to disarm Hamas." Trump on the Gaza deal:Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us with it. They’ve been very good. Nobody thought that would be possible—to disarm Hamas. That shows you how much success we are having with Iran. If you go back four or five months ago, a deal like that… pic.twitter.com/HPmYoUIaKI — Clash Report (@clashreport) July 31, 2026 He added, “It’s a big step for the Middle East, and people are really impressed by it, and they’re surprised by it." Israel yet to officially back proposal Despite Trump’s remarks, Israel has not formally commented on the agreement. However, an Israeli political source told AFP that there would be “no withdrawal whatsoever" of Israeli forces from their current positions unless Hamas undergoes “genuine disarmament". The source also said the Gaza issue did not come up during this week’s meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in Washington. Senior Israeli officials also reiterated that there would be no Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from the current security line without Hamas giving up its weapons.
Israel’s Far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticised the proposal, calling it “unacceptable" and saying it was “tantamount to agreeing to Hamas organising for the next massacre". What the Hamas deal proposes? Hamas on Friday said it had agreed to a roadmap that includes handing over its weapons to the Committee for Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Palestinian governing body established under Trump’s plan, alongside a gradual Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The agreement is intended to implement the long-delayed second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Hamas said it expects mediators and Trump’s Board of Peace to ensure Israel complies with the deal, particularly the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces. Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s negotiating team, said the group was making “concessions for the sake of our people in the Gaza Strip". “Israel will not intervene in the issue of disarmament. The Committee is the body that will undertake this task," Hamad said. The disarmament of Hamas has long been one of the biggest obstacles to fully implementing the Gaza ceasefire, with Israel insisting that the group must surrender its weapons before any lasting military withdrawal.
The BriefWire