Trump is hailing it as a ‘breakthrough’, but will Hamas actually disarm in Gaza?

According to The Conversation, President Trump announced on Friday that Hamas agreed to disarm as part of a breakthrough peace deal for Gaza. But multiple obstacles suggest the agreement is far shakier than headlines indicate. For Hamas, disarmament represents a fundamental contradiction: the movement's legitimacy among Palestinians is rooted in armed resistance to Israeli occupation. Recent polling shows sixty-nine percent of Palestinians oppose Hamas disarmament in Gaza—a sharp reminder that surrendering weapons could undermine the group's political standing. Key details remain unresolved: whether disarmament means weapons only or includes military infrastructure like tunnels and production facilities, who verifies compliance, and whether it extends beyond Gaza to Hamas members in the West Bank. But the biggest barrier is Israel: the government says it won't withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed and demilitarized, while simultaneously proposing permanent military outposts in northern Gaza. With Trump already signaling he'd be "very disappointed" if Netanyahu blocks the process, the agreement's fragility is already on display.

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