• States implementation of pact will depend on Israel fulfilling its commitments under Sharm el-Sheikh agreement
• Trump calls it ‘major breakthrough’ and step toward lasting peace
• PM Shehbaz, UN chief welcome development

GAZA CITY / UNITED NATIONS: Hamas said on Friday that it had agreed to a deal announced by US President Donald Trump to end its war with Israel, under which it would hand over its weapons to a Palestinian governing committee and Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from Gaza.

However, a Hamas source told Reuters that the “draft agreement” stipulated that heavy weapons would only be kept under the control of a Palestinian administration and could not be transferred to Israel.

“We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Isr­a­el’s withdrawal from the Strip,” Gha­zi Hamad, a member of the Hamas negotiating team, told Al Jazeera.

“Israel will not intervene in the issue of disarmament. The National Committee is the body that will undertake this task,” he added, referring to the National Committee for Administration of Gaza (NCAG).

Under Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, he said Israel was obliged to end its attacks in Gaza and withdraw its forces to where they stood in October, as well as increase the flow of goods and aid coming into the enclave.

Only then would Hamas agree to hand over its weapons for storage by the NCAG.

Trump’s “Board of Peace” published the 15-point roadmap, which called on both Israel and Hamas, together with other Palestinian factions, to implement fully the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, in particular the end to military operations in Gaza.

President Trump said on Friday that Israel was “very happy” with the agreement reached by his so-called Board of Peace for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups in Gaza.

“We do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us, and they’ve been very good,” Trump said. “Will it go through its ups and downs? It’s a very complex situation over there.”

Trump called the agreement a major breakthrough, saying nobody had thought it would be possible to disarm Hamas.

“It’s a big step for the Middle East, and people are really impressed by it, and they’re surprised by it.”

Israel has yet to officially comment on the announcement, but a political source told AFP “that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever” by Israeli forces from their current lines “unless Hamas undergoes a genuine disarmament”.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced the agreement as “unacceptable”, saying it was “tantamount to agreeing to Hamas organising for the next massacre”.

Within hours of Trump unveiling the deal, Gaza’s medical authorities said one Palestinian had been killed and several others wounded in at least two Israeli airstrikes and by gunfire in the enclave.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that Pakistan welcomed developments under the “Board of Peace” towards implementing the disarmament process under the Gaza Peace Plan.

He emphasised that the mediating countries, including the United States of America, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, deserved “special appreciation for their efforts in achieving this progress”.

Commending President Trump’s “courageous leadership”, the premier said that this represented “a significant achievement for the Board of Peace”.

“Pakistan expresses the hope that with these developments, concrete steps will be taken towards implementing all commitments under the Gaza Peace Plan.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a deal meant to see Hamas disarmed was a rare piece of good news for the Middle East.

“The only good news in recent days is the announcement by the US president of an agreement for Hamas to relinquish their weapons and for Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026