Trump touts Hamas 'disarmament deal' — but who disarms first?
Left says
- •The agreement's success depends on rigorous, independently verified sequencing rather than Trump's celebratory framing, since Hamas has publicly stated it won't disarm until Israel withdraws — the opposite of the phased approach Trump describes.
- •Nearly 1,200 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the October ceasefire, including civilians and children, underscoring how fragile and incomplete peace remains despite triumphant announcements.
- •Israel's own skepticism and its history of expanding military operations (including toward Iran) raise doubts about whether Israeli forces will actually withdraw on schedule or whether Netanyahu will slow-walk commitments.
- •Diplomacy and multilateral mediation — via Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt — deserve credit for pressuring Hamas into an unprecedented commitment to demilitarize and cede governance to a technocratic body.
Right says
- •Trump's negotiating pressure and the threat of continued military consequences for Iran-backed actors are what forced Hamas to the table after months of delicate, hard-nosed diplomacy.
- •Israel's skepticism that Hamas will actually disarm is well-founded given the group's history, and any deal must hold Hamas accountable through verified, sequenced steps rather than good-faith assumptions.
- •The administration is committed to ensuring Israel's security interests are protected throughout implementation, coordinating closely with Netanyahu rather than pressuring Israel to make unilateral concessions.
- •A firm stance against Iranian interference — including reports that the IRGC urged Hamas to stall — shows why continued American strength and willingness to respond to attacks was necessary to get this deal signed at all.
Common Take
High Consensus- Trump announced a disarmament agreement in which Hamas would relinquish weapons and governing control of Gaza to a new technocratic authority, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
- Hamas official Ghazi Hamad and other Hamas representatives confirmed an agreement was reached but said disarmament would not begin until Israel withdraws its forces, creating a direct conflict with Trump's described sequencing.
- Israeli officials remain deeply skeptical that Hamas will follow through on surrendering its weapons.
- The demilitarization process is expected to take 200-250 days and involves an international stabilization force to help train police, collect weapons, and monitor compliance before authority transfers area by area.
The Arguments
Left argues
The deal's actual success hinges on rigorous, independently verified sequencing rather than Trump's celebratory rhetoric, and Hamas official Ghazi Hamad's public statement that disarmament won't begin until Israel withdraws directly contradicts Trump's description of a phased process where withdrawal and disarmament proceed together.
Right counters
The administration has explicitly built the agreement around a 'zero trust' framework with reciprocal, independently verified steps precisely because officials anticipated this kind of rhetorical posturing from Hamas, and verbal statements to Al Jazeera don't override the signed terms of the roadmap.
Right argues
Trump's willingness to keep applying military pressure on Iran-backed actors — including responding to attacks on commercial ships and American soldiers — created the leverage that finally forced Hamas to sign after Iran's own IRGC urged the group to stall and play for time.
Left counters
Crediting American military pressure alone erases the essential, hands-on diplomatic work of Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt — particularly Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad's personal relationship with Hamas leadership — which multiple sources describe as the decisive factor in getting Hamas to the table.
Left argues
Nearly 1,200 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the October ceasefire, including civilians and children, which shows that triumphant announcements of a 'historic' deal are disconnected from the grinding, lethal reality still unfolding on the ground in Gaza.
Right counters
Ongoing violence from Hamas militants and other armed factions during an unstable transition period is precisely the problem this disarmament agreement is designed to solve, not evidence that the deal itself is hollow or premature.
Right argues
Israel's deep skepticism that Hamas will actually surrender its weapons is well-founded given the group's history of reneging on commitments, which is why the administration insists on verified, sequenced steps and a monitoring mechanism rather than relying on Hamas's good faith.
Left counters
That same skepticism should cut both ways — Israel's own track record of expanding military operations and slow-walking withdrawals, combined with Netanyahu's history of tension with Trump over the war's duration, gives equal reason to doubt Israel will honor its side of the sequencing.
Right argues
The administration is coordinating closely with Israel and has made clear it will hold Israel to its commitments under the 20-point plan without demanding unilateral concessions, showing the U.S. isn't pressuring its ally to make sacrifices Hamas hasn't earned.
Left counters
A senior U.S. official's own admission that 'if they do not do that, President Trump will be very disappointed' reveals the enforcement mechanism against Israel is soft persuasion at best, in stark contrast to the rigorous verification demanded of Hamas.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If diplomatic pressure from Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt deserves the credit for this breakthrough, why did those same mediators need months of 'very delicate' negotiation and Iran's own IRGC actively lobbying Hamas to stall — doesn't that suggest something beyond diplomacy alone was necessary to close the deal?”
Left asks Right
“If Israel's history of expanding operations and skepticism toward the deal is treated as a legitimate hedge to protect its security interests, why is Hamas's parallel skepticism and insistence on sequencing not afforded the same good-faith interpretation?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Figures like Rep. Rashida Tlaib and commentators such as Mehdi Hasan represent a further-left fringe (~15-20% of the left) who frame this primarily as Israeli/U.S. failure to hold Israel accountable for civilian deaths, rather than focusing on Hamas's noncompliance.
Right Fringe
Pundits like Mark Levin and some pro-Israel hawks (~15% of the right) argue the deal is naive and that Hamas should be militarily destroyed rather than negotiated with at all, rejecting the framing that diplomacy achieved anything meaningful.
Noise Assessment
High — cable news and social media amplify both triumphant Trump framing and skeptical 'this will fail' commentary far beyond the more measured, wait-and-see attitude most ordinary Americans likely hold given fatigue with the conflict.
Sources (6)
The White House on Friday responded to questions about reports of a potential expansion of U.S. military operations against Iran, saying President Donald Trump remains committed to a diplomatic resolution but will continue responding to Iranian attacks. In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The United States signed an MOU with Iran and they broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers. President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur. Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way."...
President Donald Trump said Thursday that a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remained to wind down the war in the Palestinian territory.
<p>President <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump</a> announced Thursday that his <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/07/gaza-board-peace-meeting-trump-dc" target="_blank">Board of Peace</a> had reached an agreement with Hamas to disarm and transfer civilian and security control of Gaza to a new Palestinian technocratic government. </p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> If implemented, the agreement would represent a dramatic breakthrough in Trump's 20-point Gaza <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/13/gaza-peace-plan-hamas-control-board-peace" target="_blank">peace plan</a> and clear the way for reconstruction of the devastated enclave.</p><hr /><ul><li>But the deal requires Hamas and <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/israel" target="_blank">Israel</a> to complete a complicated series of reciprocal and independently verified steps over roughly seven to eight months.</li><li>Israeli officials remain deeply skeptical that <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/palestine-hamas-military-power" target="_blank">Hamas</a> will surrender its weapons, while comments from a senior Hamas official suggest the sequencing of disarmament and Israel's withdrawal could still be contested.</li></ul><p><strong>What they're saying:</strong> "Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza," Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/posts/117011270507732212" target="_blank">wrote</a> Thursday evening on Truth Social.</p><ul><li>"This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY," he added.</li></ul><p><strong>State of play:</strong> Two U.S. officials said Hamas had agreed to the terms of the deal after months of what one senior administration official described as "very delicate" negotiations with mediators Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.</p><ul><li>Implementation is expected to begin in the coming weeks, the senior U.S. official said.</li><li>A Board of Peace official said this is the first time Hamas and the other Palestinian factions in Gaza have agreed to demilitarize the enclave and transfer responsibility for security and civilian services to a technocratic government.</li></ul><p><strong>Under the agreement, </strong>Hamas would relinquish any role in governing Gaza. The new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) would serve as an alternative to Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.</p><ul><li>"It will work for the people of Gaza," the senior U.S. official said.</li></ul><p><strong>Reality check:</strong> Hamas official Ghazi Hamad confirmed to Al Jazeera that "difficult" negotiations had produced an agreement, but his description raised immediate questions about its implementation.</p><ul><li>"We will not take any steps regarding disarmament before Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip," Hamad said. He added that the NCAG would carry out disarmament without Israeli involvement.</li><li>That appears to differ from Trump's description of a "carefully structured" and phased process in which Israeli forces withdraw as disarmament is completed.</li><li>U.S. and Board of Peace officials said implementation would proceed through reciprocal, independently verified steps, while acknowledging that the timetable for Israel's withdrawal is still being finalized.</li></ul><p><strong>The big picture: </strong>Large parts of Gaza were destroyed during the war, and most of its 2 million residents continue to live in tents or makeshift shelters.</p><ul><li>Food and other aid are entering Gaza in large quantities, but the humanitarian situation remains dire.</li><li>The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire. Some were Hamas militants, while many others were civilians, including children.</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in:</strong> The agreement is based on the principle that Gaza will have one government, one legal system and one legitimate security authority. The demilitarization process is expected to take between 200 and 250 days and to proceed through one part of Gaza at a time.</p><ul><li>Hamas' civilian police would first transfer their weapons to a new Palestinian police force under the technocratic government.</li><li>Hamas' heavy weapons would then be decommissioned and placed in secure storage, while its tunnels and weapons factories would be dismantled.</li><li>Small arms would be collected in accordance with Palestinian law.</li><li>All other militias in Gaza, including anti-Hamas factions armed by Israel during the war, would also be required to surrender their weapons.</li></ul><p><strong>The NCAG </strong>would assume authority over each area only after a monitoring mechanism verified that the relevant commitments had been fulfilled.</p><ul><li>At the end of the process, the technocratic government and its police force would have a monopoly on weapons in Gaza, the Board of Peace official said.</li></ul><p><strong>How it works:</strong> Under the agreement, an international stabilization force would help train the new Palestinian police, assist with weapons collection, and deploy between Palestinian-controlled areas and Israeli forces.</p><ul><li>A Board of Peace official said the agreement was designed around "zero trust" because Hamas and Israel each made clear from the outset that they did not trust the other side.</li><li>The process would not advance from one stage to the next until monitors verified that both sides had met their obligations.</li><li>The goal is to avoid a situation in which the technocratic government controls Gaza during the day while armed factions retain power at night, the official said.</li></ul><p><strong>The other side:</strong> Israel's withdrawal would proceed gradually under a timetable that is still being finalized.</p><ul><li>Trump said Israeli forces would withdraw as disarmament was completed and the international force and new Palestinian police assumed responsibility for security.</li><li>Israel would also halt military operations and targeted killings in Gaza, except in cases involving an imminent threat.</li><li>"All military activity in Gaza will have to cease — both from Israel and Hamas," the Board of Peace official said.</li></ul><p><strong>Inside the room:</strong> The senior U.S. official said the Trump administration coordinated closely with Israel throughout the negotiations.</p><ul><li>The administration also intends to ensure Israel fulfills its commitments under the agreement, despite Israel's skepticism that Hamas will disarm.</li><li>"We are not asking Israel for anything other than to implement their commitments under the 20-point plan," the official said.</li><li>"If they do not do that, President Trump will be very disappointed. I do not think the Israelis would want to escalate things with us right now."</li></ul><p><strong>Behind the scenes:</strong> Egypt, Qatar and Turkey exerted intense pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.</p><ul><li>A key figure was Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, who hosted the talks and has a close relationship with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya, U.S. officials and others familiar with the negotiations said.</li></ul><p><strong>The intrigue: </strong>During a recent visit to Iran for the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a Hamas delegation met with senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting.</p><ul><li>The IRGC officials urged Hamas not to rush into signing the agreement and to play for time, the source said.</li><li>A senior U.S. official also claimed Iran tried to convince Hamas not to sign the deal, but said the group chose not to listen.</li></ul><p><em>Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.</em></p>
<p>President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office Tuesday for a "productive" 90-minute session on the Iran war — free of any public sign of <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/28/trump-netanyahu-white-house-iran-war-meeting" target="_blank">tensions</a> that have marked their relationship over the past several weeks.</p><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>The meeting could have gone the other way, given <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump's</a> frustration with the Israeli leader over the war, which he even alluded to publicly shortly before Netanyah arrived at the White House. The fact that both sides described it as positive is a win for Bibi.</p><hr /><p><strong>Driving the news: </strong>An account provided by the <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/israel" target="_blank">Israeli</a> government stressed that the two leaders are in close coordination on the war and that there is no daylight between them. </p><ul><li>"There is no truth in the claim that Israel is pushing the U.S. in a certain direction on the <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran</a> issue," Netanyahu's communication director, Tzipi Hotovely, told reporters. "The Prime Minister is not telling the U.S. President what to do and is not pushing him in any direction. Both sides want to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. There are many ways to achieve this goal."</li><li>Aside from Iran, Hotovely said Trump and Netanyahu discussed the possibility of <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/url-slug-trump-saudi-nuclear-deal-enrichment-israel" target="_blank">Saudi Arabia</a> normalizing relations with Israel, which Trump called for as part of a Saudi nuclear deal.</li><li>The U.S. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/07/trump-turkey-f35-jets" target="_blank">sale of F-35s</a> to Turkey, which Israel opposes, was not raised at the meeting. And Trump did not demand that Israel withdraw troops from areas they are occupying, Hotovely said.</li><li>White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Israel's description of the meeting, calling it "good and productive."</li><li>Unlike most of their previous Oval Office meetings, this one was private and reporters were not invited in. Netanyahu's office provided photos afterward.</li></ul><p><strong>What they're saying: </strong>Netanyahu said on Instagram afterward that his conversation with Trump today was one of the best they've ever had. </p><ul><li>"We have a mutual understanding that the goal is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon," he said.</li></ul><p><strong>Context: </strong>After locking arms on the launch of Operation Epic Fury in late February, tensions have grown between the two men as the war drags on far longer than Trump predicted.</p><ul><li>In a Fox News interview shortly before their meeting, Trump scoffed at the idea that Netanyahu was exaggerating the threat of nuclear activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain.</li><li>"I don't need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi's telling me that because he wants me to stay involved," Trump said.</li><li>Several other times, Trump has used colorful language to demean Netanyahu and insist he controls the Israeli prime minister. In late May, as Axios first <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/01/trump-netanyahu-israel-lebanon-call" target="_blank">reported</a>, he called Netanyahu "f---ing crazy" during a call about Israel's actions in Lebanon.</li></ul>
Hamas on Friday confirmed that the group reached a disarmament agreement with negotiators to address one of the main sticking points for a broader peace deal in Gaza. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim announced on the social platform X that the militant group “agreed to the roadmap.” Naim added that the “ball is now in…
President Trump on Thursday evening announced a deal for Hamas to disarm in “carefully structured phases,” which, if carried out, would address one of the main sticking points for a broader peace deal in Gaza.  “This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely…