SHEFFIELD, U.K., and JERUSALEM — Mediators have given Hamas a formal proposal to lay down its weapons, a senior U.S. official told NPR. The proposal calls for Hamas and all other militant groups in Gaza to hand over all weapons, making an emerging governing authority responsible for all arms.
The demilitarization proposal was handed over to Hamas last week in Cairo, an additional official in the region said.
A third person briefed on the proposal called it a comprehensive framework to ensure the "complete handover" and "full decommissioning" of arms belonging to Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, and that if Hamas accepts the proposal, it would ensure large-scale reconstruction of Gaza.
The person said Hamas has been asked to respond to the proposal in about a weeks time, after the Muslim Eid holiday. Senior Hamas officials did not immediately comment, and one Hamas official denied having received a proposal.
Hamas and Israel signed on to President Trump's ceasefire deal last October, in an effort to end two years of war that have devastated Gaza and triggered conflicts across the Middle East.
Trump's Board of Peace was established to oversee efforts to demilitarize Hamas, establish a multinational stabilization force for Gaza and ensure an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory. Hamas officials said they were willing to discuss their weapons but had been waiting for a formal proposal from mediators.
The work of the Board of Peace has been largely put on hold, however, since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a new regional conflict that has engulfed more than a dozen countries.
The members of the new Palestinian transitional committee tasked to run postwar Gaza have still not entered the territory, and no new Palestinian police force or multinational force has been formed.
Despite the fragile truce agreement, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel says the attacks targeted Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants.
Robert Danin, a former senior U.S. State Department and White House official specializing in the Middle East, said it was unlikely Hamas would be in any hurry to deliver its response to the demilitarization proposal or agree to it.
"Hamas sees time as being on its side right now," Danin said. "With each passing day, its influence and control on the ground in Gaza strengthens and expands, particularly as long as the Board of Peace's proposed alternative governance structures and forces for Gaza remain stuck outside of the strip. So the longer Hamas can prolong this status quo, the stronger it sees its hand growing for any day after."
Danin said the distraction caused by the war with Iran would also likely draw attention away from pressuring Hamas.
"This means that for the Board of Peace and those seeking to disarm Hamas, the key question is what tools does it have to see Hamas adopt this plan?" he said.
The Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israel. Israel's massive military response killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza and left the coastal enclave in ruins, according to Palestinian health officials.
Despite the fragile ceasefire agreement, over the last six months Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, in what Israel says were attacks targeting Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants.
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