Demand for tunnel maps and personal weapons tests Gaza talks

Published 23 June 2026 · world

While Palestinian factions offered to store heavy weapons, Gaza’s high representative is pushing for the handover of underground networks and family firearms. Ceasefire talks in

While Palestinian factions offered to store heavy weapons, Gaza’s high representative is pushing for the handover of underground networks and family firearms. Ceasefire talks in Egypt between Palestinian factions and mediators face a serious test after Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative of the “Board of Peace“, demanded that not a “single bullet” should be left in Gaza. Among the maximalist demands of US President Donald Trump’s oversight body for Gaza is the complete disarmament of Hamas, the surrender of maps of tunnels operated by the group, and even weapons privately held by Palestinians in the enclave. Details from sources involved in the Cairo talks say that the handover of Palestinian weapons is the primary hurdle to completely ending Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Palestinian officials argue that the complete disarmament stipulation means that Mladenov is essentially a facilitator for Israel’s maximalist demands. The battle over Clause 8 At the heart of the current deadlock is “Clause 8”, a pivotal section of the United States-brokered October 2025 ceasefire plan, which dictates the exact terms of disarmament, the management of military infrastructure in post-war Gaza, as well as the transfer of security responsibilities for the enclave to a unified Palestinian body. An informed source familiar with the internal dynamics of the talks told Al Jazeera that Hamas initially demonstrated “high positivity” regarding this clause. For the first time, Hamas had agreed to the handover of its “inventory and storage of heavy weapons”, referring to the arsenal of rockets, missiles, and Kornet antitank missiles that the movement is believed to possess. “The mediators were, of course, happy because for the first time Hamas engaged with this matter,” the informed source said. “Previously, they would not engage in this topic at all.” A tale of two texts A Hamas source involved in the talks provided Al Jazeera with the competing drafts of Clause 8 of the ceasefire plan, which covers the handover of weapons by Palestinian factions in Gaza. Mladenov, who, as high representative, has responsibility for post-war transition in Gaza, wants the unconditional surrender of all arms by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. Hamas and Palestinian factions, meanwhile, have tied the handover of weapons to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The high representative’s proposed text A gradual, phased process to “inventory/collect” all weapons based on an agreed timeline, monitored by the high representative, the Implementation Verification Committee, and the International Stabilization Force (ISF).