Gaza: Trump signals Hamas disarmament deal

A proposed Gaza deal has shifted attention from securing a ceasefire to determining who governs after the war, revealing the political obstacles to achieving durable peace, according to The Guardian and Al-Monitor via Reuters on 31 July.

Donald Trump’s claim that Hamas has agreed to discuss disarmament as part of a proposed Gaza settlement marks another attempt to secure a ceasefire. It reflects a broader shift in international diplomacy, where the central question is no longer simply how the war ends, but who will hold legitimate authority afterwards. The proposal reframes Gaza from a military conflict into a contest over political power.

Trump said the US-backed Board of Peace framework would link Hamas’s phased disarmament to an Israeli military withdrawal and the creation of a new civilian administration. While Hamas has reportedly expressed willingness to discuss elements of the proposal, Israel has yet to formally endorse it, leaving the initiative suspended between diplomatic ambition and political reality. Its significance lies less in the prospect of immediate disarmament than in the political assumptions on which it rests, with earlier negotiations focused primarily on ceasefires, humanitarian access and hostage exchanges.

This initiative instead recognises that military arrangements alone might not survive without an accepted governing framework capable of exercising authority once the fighting ends.

The initiative also reflects Washington’s attempt to redefine regional diplomacy. Rather than mediating temporary pauses in fighting, the United States is increasingly seeking to influence the institutions that emerge after the conflict.

Ultimately, the proposal demonstrates that the conflict has entered a different phase. The decisive challenge is no longer ending hostilities, but establishing a political settlement capable of preventing their return.

Al-Monitor via Reuters,  The Guardian, Maghrebi.org