Gaza, Palestine – A senior Hamas official said that the Palestinian group will not take any steps towards disarmament before Israeli forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ negotiating delegation, said the issue of disarmament is linked to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the territory’s reconstruction.

In remarks to Al Jazeera, Hamad said Israel would have no role in the disarmament process, which would instead be carried out by a Palestinian national committee.

He stressed that Hamas would not implement any disarmament measures unless Israel first fulfills its obligations under the agreement.

Hamad described the negotiations as ‘difficult and tough’, saying Hamas sought to secure the best possible outcome while remaining committed to safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people.

He also thanked Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye for their mediation efforts in helping reach the agreement.

Hamad’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced that an agreement had been reached for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, with Israeli forces set to withdraw in phases as the process moves forward.

Trump also credited Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye for helping broker what he described as a “historic breakthrough,” saying the agreement would be implemented gradually, with the International Stabilization Force working alongside a new Palestinian police force to assume responsibility for security in Gaza.

The ceasefire was brokered under Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, which is being overseen by the Board of Peace chaired by him.

A Board of Peace official confirmed to Al Jazeera that Hamas and other armed factions would hand over their weapons to a national committee set to administer Gaza. The official said weapons held by the police would be transferred first, followed by the decommissioning of heavy weapons. All military activity in Gaza would have to stop under the plan, though the official said the process will take time to implement.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said it “took months of very difficult negotiations” for the agreement to be reached.

“There were several points when I did not believe we would make it,” he wrote on X, adding that what happens next “matters even more” than the initial deal.

“Implementation and verification have to be real,” Mladenov said. “Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.”

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the draft as “unacceptable to Israel”.

He declared, “The assassinations in Gaza must continue, the encouragement of immigration must happen, Israel must win.”

Despite the ceasefire which took effect on October 10, 2025, Israel has continued daily attacks across Gaza, killing 1,214 Palestinians and injuring 3,977 others, most of them women and children, while causing widespread destruction.

Over 60,000 children in Gaza have lost parents since Oct 2023

More than 60,000 children in the Gaza Strip have lost at least one parent since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a report.

At least 60,737 children lost at least one parent – 52,095 lost their father, 5,929 lost their mother and 2,713 lost both parents.

It also said 2,276 families, comprising 8,858 people, had been “totally wiped out from the civil registry”.

The ministry said more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 and over 174,000 injured, most of them women and children, while about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure destroyed.

Agencies