Israel says Hamas "will be disarmed" under a US-backed, three-phase Gaza peace plan, after a senior Hamas official signalled openness to a weapons "freeze" rather than full disarmament. The ceasefire that began on October 10 following the October 7, 2023 attack remains fragile, with frequent allegations of violations. The plan envisions Israeli pullback and deployment of an international stabilisation force in later stages; Hamas says it would accept forces on the border but not inside Gaza. Heavy winter rains have flooded displacement sites, and a UN report warns that 761 sites sheltering about 850,000 people face high flood risk.
Israel Says "Hamas Will Be Disarmed" As Group Proposes Weapons "Freeze"
The US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza is composed of three phases (Bashar Taleb)(Bashar Taleb/AFP/AFP)
Israel declared on Thursday that Hamas "will be disarmed" under the US-backed Gaza peace framework, after a senior Hamas official said the movement would consider a weapons "freeze" rather than full disarmament.
The ceasefire, in effect since October 10 following Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has paused major hostilities but remains fragile. Both sides continue to accuse each other of violations nearly every day.
Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal told Qatar's Al Jazeera that the group is open to a weapons "freeze" but rejects the demand for total disarmament contained in the plan associated with US leader Donald Trump for the Palestinian territory.
Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for the Israeli prime minister's office, reiterated Israel's position in a briefing: "Israel will continue to follow the 20-point plan. There will be no Hamas inside of the Gaza Strip. Hamas will be disarmed." She said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the outcome could be achieved "the easy way or the hard way."
Phased Agreement And The International Stabilisation Force
The deal is structured in three phases. Netanyahu has indicated he expects the second phase to begin soon. Under that phase, Israeli troops would further withdraw from positions inside Gaza and be replaced by an international stabilisation force (ISF), while Hamas would lay down its weapons.
Hamas has signalled it will not accept full relinquishment of its arsenal. "The idea of total disarmament is unacceptable to the resistance (Hamas)," Meshaal said. He described the alternative under discussion as a "freeze, or storage (of weapons)... to provide guarantees against any military escalation from Gaza with the Israeli occupation." Meshaal added he believed a pragmatic US approach could help reach agreement.
Mediators, Guarantees And Borders
Meshaal said Hamas would accept deployment of international forces along Gaza's border with Israel but opposes their operation inside Gaza, calling such an internal deployment an "occupation." He cited UNIFIL, the UN force in southern Lebanon, as an example of a border-deployed stabilisation presence that Hamas could accept.
Meshaal suggested mediators, together with Arab and Islamic states, could act as "guarantors" to prevent escalation originating from inside Gaza. Israeli and US officials have been discussing next steps; Netanyahu was expected to meet US leader Donald Trump in the United States on December 29 to consult on the truce's implementation.
Hostage Exchanges And Prisoner Releases
During the first phase of the agreement, Palestinian militants committed to handing over the remaining 48 captives they held, living and dead. To date, all hostages have been released except for one body. In return, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians who were killed.
Humanitarian Impact: Heavy Rains In Gaza
Heavy winter rains swept across Gaza late on Wednesday, flooding tents and makeshift shelters and compounding the hardships faced by displaced residents. With much of Gaza's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, thousands of tents and improvised shelters sit amid cleared rubble.
"Last night was a terrible night for us and our children because of the heavy rain and cold. The children got all wet, the blankets got wet, the mattresses got wet," said Suad Muslim, who lives in a tent with her family in al-Zawayda.
A United Nations report warned that 761 displacement sites sheltering roughly 850,000 people face a high risk of flooding. Residents appealed for basic supplies: tents, blankets, clothing and shoes.
Reporting credits: bur-raz/acc/jfx; interviews and statements cited in the original dispatch.
