Even if Hamas disarms, the challenge in Gaza will be accountability

Hamas has reportedly agreed to a complete disarmament under a roadmap negotiated through President Trump's Board of Peace, but Israel says it won't withdraw its forces until that disarmament actually happens, Anna Marie Brennan writes for The Conversation. Even if weapons are surrendered, she argues the harder question is accountability: the International Criminal Court's investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza continues, including 2024 arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, even as the Trump administration has said it wants to dismantle the ICC. Brennan points to Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland as precedents showing that decommissioning weapons and rebuilding institutions can end fighting, but that lasting peace also depends on whether victims get truth and justice. As she tells it, a genuine postwar Gaza will be judged not just by disarmament and reconstruction, but by whether accountability is actually pursued.

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