Trump's Gaza Deal Faces Major Challenges

Hamas confirmed Friday that it will begin disarming as part of a deal announced by President Trump that also requires Israel to end its strikes and withdraw from Gaza. It marks a potential breakthrough in ending the war, but implementation faces major challenges. Hamas also said that laying down its heavy weapons, which would come later in the process, was contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel's current government adamantly rejects, the AP reports. Israel has not officially commented on the deal, which is part of a US-brokered ceasefire announced last October.

That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administration. Israel was to withdraw, and an International Stabilization Force was to deploy. But progress stalled, with Israel saying everything hinged on Hamas disarming, and Hamas accusing Israel of violating the agreement by continuing to carry out regular strikes on Gaza.

• Expectations of implementation are low, the AP reports. Disarming would represent a sea change for Hamas, whose founding charter calls for armed resistance against Israel, and which sees its arsenal, including rockets, anti-tank missiles, and explosives, as lying at the heart of its identity. Israel, meanwhile, appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or make other concessions ahead of its October elections.
• While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has yet to comment, Itamar Ben-Gvi, Israel's hardline national security minister, said parts of the agreement are "unacceptable" and Israel's targeted killings in Gaza "must continue," the New York Times reports.

• A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by the AP said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the US-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the enclave. It's not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps. A process to decommission and store heavy weapons, military production sites, and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement.
• During his Cabinet meeting on Friday, Trump said the newly-minted agreement will have "ups and downs." Still, he said, the deal is a "great breakthrough" that has been helped along by the US and Israel's war with Iran, which has served as Hamas' prime backer. "Nobody's ever thought that would be possible to disarm Hamas," Trump said. "That shows you how much success we're having with Iran, because if you go four months ago or five months ago, a deal like that would have been impossible."
• Asked whether he thought the deal would go through, he acknowledged that it is a "very complex situation" in Gaza, the BBC reports. "The people are very complex and difficult. In many cases wonderful, in many cases not so wonderful." He declined to say which would come first, Israeli withdrawal or Hamas disarmament.