Hamas has accepted, for the first time, a framework to completely disarm in Gaza under the Board of Peace plan, potentially removing a major barrier to a Trump-backed peace initiative. If implemented, the arrangement could be the first credible step towards ending a war that has lasted nearly three years, though there is significant uncertainty over whether all sides will meet their commitments.

The proposal would involve Palestinian supervision of an inventory and storage of Hamas’s remaining heavy weapons, rather than their direct handover to Israel. Palestinian officials link the decision to Gaza’s severe humanitarian crisis affecting more than two million people and to Hamas’s new leadership under Khalil al-Hayya, but many Gazans remain sceptical after repeated failed ceasefires and agreements.