Hamas Given Ultimatum on Disarmament After Group Signals Unwillingness To Cooperate

President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BOP) initiative, whose first task is overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza, has reportedly given Hamas until the week’s end to accept a phased disarmament plan. 

The news quickly followed Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida’s statement on April 5. Obeida — going by the nom de guerre used by his eliminated predecessor — rejected disarmament as “something we will not accept under any circumstances.”

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire, a plan endorsed by the United Nations through UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2803, demands the disarmament of Hamas as a precondition for further phases of the truce.

Hamas’s refusal to comply spells trouble for the ceasefire’s stability. Hamas’s opposition to the stipulation is also matched by steady attempts to rearm and reconstitute in Gaza, resulting in near-daily Israeli strikes across the enclave.

Obeida Rejects Proposed Disarmament Plan

A new proposal presented to Hamas by the Board of Peace in recent weeks demanded a phased disarmament of the terrorist organization. The plan stated that “Gaza will be governed under the principle ‌of one ⁠authority, one law, one weapon, whereby only individuals authorized by (NCAG) may possess weapons, and all armed factions will cease military activities,” referencing Gaza’s transitional government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, which the BOP will oversee. 

The disarmament process will be undertaken by the “Weapons Collection Verification Committee,” led by chief diplomatic envoy on the BOP, Nickolay Mladenov, who recently briefed the UNSC on the disarmament plan and presented its details to a Hamas delegation in Cairo. 

In phase one, the NCAG would take over security and administrative control of Gaza and prepare for weapons collection. 

Phase two would see Israeli forces remove tanks and artillery from areas it controls east of the Yellow Line, which bisects the Gaza Strip into Hamas and IDF-controlled areas.

During phase three, Hamas would relinquish its heavy weaponry to the NCAG and “allow the destruction of all tunnels, explosives, and military infrastructure.”

Phase four would involve the deployment of the NCAG’s security force, which would collect and register all remaining firearms, including Hamas’s estimated 60,000 AK-47-style rifles. Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza in phases.

The final stage would serve as verification, during which the IDF would withdraw completely from Gaza except to a yet-to-be-defined security perimeter.

Hamas’s Reconstitution Efforts in Gaza

Before the current war between Iran and the United States and Israel, reports emerged that Hamas was utilizing floating drift containers to smuggle prohibited materials into Gaza. Hamas has since taken advantage of the decreasing media attention paid to Gaza to both plot attacks against Israeli forces and continue its reconstitution efforts. 

Some notable incidents have included; the elimination of a Hamas cell on March 15 planning an attack against the IDF in Gaza, including two Nukhba terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, atrocities in Israel; the elimination on March 18 of Yahya Abu-Labda, a Hamas commander attempting to procure electronic components for advanced rockets; the elimination on March 19 of Hamas commander Muhammad Abu Shalal, who was attempting to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities in Gaza; a strike on March 23 against an armed Hamas cell carrying out military exercises in Gaza; and the elimination on April 4 of Ali Ahmed Ali Amrain, a weapons smuggler supplying “numerous weapons to” Hamas, according to the IDF.

Washington Should Stand Firm on Demands

The Board of Peace should not yield to Hamas’s pushback on disarmament. Washington should continue to support both preventive and reactive Israeli strikes across Gaza for as long as Hamas continues to refuse to comply with disarmament demands to ensure the group cannot reconstitute its military capabilities. 

In parallel, reconstruction planning should advance rapidly in all parts of Gaza outside Hamas control.

Aaron Goren is a research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Aaron and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Aaron on X @RealAaronGoren. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.