Donald Trump says the Board of Peace has secured agreement for Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza to completely disarm, a move he described as a major step in a US-brokered ceasefire plan. A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group had agreed and would issue a statement, although Israel had not formally commented and reports suggested it remained dissatisfied with the proposed terms.

Under the plan’s second phase, Israeli forces would withdraw as disarmament is completed, while an international stabilisation force and a new Palestinian police force would assume security responsibilities. The phase also envisages Gaza’s reconstruction, with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey involved as mediators; the war began after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, followed by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.