THE implementation of a Gaza peace framework announced by US President Donald Trump will depend on Israel first fulfilling its obligations under a previous agreement, a senior Hamas official involved in negotiations said on Friday.
Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official involved in talks, said the proposed arrangement represented a “comprehensive framework” that extended beyond the issue of disarmament and would require Israel to carry out commitments agreed during negotiations last year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that his “Board of Peace” had reached a “major milestone” towards ending the Gaza war, claiming that an agreement had been reached for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups.
Reuters reported on Friday, Hamad adding that Hamas had made clear to mediators that Israel must first comply with the earlier agreement before the group would proceed with handing over its weapons.
“We insisted to the mediators that Israel must abide by the agreement,” he said.
Under the previous arrangement, Hamad said Israel was required to halt attacks in Gaza, withdraw its forces to positions held in October, and allow increased supplies of goods and humanitarian aid into the territory.
Only after those steps were implemented would Hamas agree to transfer its weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic body established to oversee the administration of the enclave.
However, an Israeli official said on Thursday that Israel would not agree to withdraw behind the so-called Yellow Line until Hamas had been disarmed and the Gaza Strip had been demilitarised.
The competing positions highlight the continuing challenges facing efforts to secure a lasting settlement in Gaza, with both sides maintaining different conditions for the next phase of any peace arrangement. - July 31, 2026
