CAIRO: Members of Palestinian factions including Hamas agreed in principle for Gaza’s armed groups to hand over parts of their arsenals to a yet-to-be-created, ad hoc Palestinian entity during talks in Cairo, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday.

Such a proposal has almost no chance of being accepted by Israel, which demands a complete demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, starting with Hamas.

Several of those who attended the Cairo talks that began on Saturday expressed hope the proposal would break a months-long deadlock on negotiations over Gaza’s future.

The talks are being attended by most major factions, including Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad, but not the Fatah party that dominates the Palestinian Authority.

On Tuesday, the factions discussed the details of the weapons handover to a new entity with representation from various Palestinian political currents, according to a source close to negotiations.

They rejected the idea of a full disarmament, as demanded by Israel, several sources who asked for anonymity said. “Egypt and the mediators are working to formulate a new, acceptable formula that takes into account the factions’ agreement,” one of the participants said.

Another Palestinian taking part in the talks said that Egyptian and Qatari mediators welcomed this approach.

“Hamas is linking the weapons question to a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza … and to Gaza’s reconstruction,” one Palestinian political official said.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said that recent days had brought “significant progress”, adding that the factions aimed to implement US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.

Israeli strikes have continued at an almost daily pace despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025 after two years of war, under Trump’s phased peace plan.

Hamas and Israel blame each other for the current impasse, each accusing the other almost daily of violating the ceasefire.

Hamas accuses Israel of failing to honour its commitments, particularly on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, while Israel insists on the complete disarmament of the Islamist movement before any further implementation of the plan.

Hamas has repeatedly stated that it is not opposed to handing over some of its arsenal, but only as part of a Palestinian political process. Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal also suggested a weapons “freeze” or “storage”, which Israel rejected.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2026