Updated July 31, 2026 — 3:09pm,first published July 31, 2026 — 9:31amDetroit: Hamas has agreed to give up its weapons and transfer responsibility for Gaza to a US-backed technocratic committee in what President Donald Trump called “a monumental step” towards peace – although it could still come apart.Trump said his Board of Peace had reached an agreement for “the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza”. It would be executed in carefully structured phases, he wrote on Truth Social, and was a critical step towards establishing a new Palestinian government.US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.AP Photo/Alex BrandonLater, a member of Hamas’ negotiating delegation, Ghazi Hamad, confirmed the deal to Al Jazeera. “These negotiations were difficult and hard, and we tried to reach the best possible formula that was achievable,” he told the broadcaster.On a briefing call with reporters, senior US and Board of Peace officials said details of the plan still had to be finalised. They would not lay out a specific timeline for the decommissioning of weapons and tunnels, but said it could take 200 to 350 days.Hamas and other militant groups will hand their weapons to the Board of Peace-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the officials said. It will begin with Gaza’s police force within the next two weeks and, later, militias will hand over their heavy weapons.Palestinians inspect damage on Thursday, a day after an Israeli airstrike hit Gaza City.BloombergIsrael, whose military still controls about two-thirds of the Gaza Strip, was expected to gradually withdraw from the territory based on Hamas’s disarmament. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government about Trump’s announcement.“Israeli withdrawal will be done in phases according to a timetable that needs to be finalised,” a senior US official briefed reporters on the call. “We’re very confident they will adhere to it. If they don’t, obviously [we will be] very, very disappointed.”For now, Israel was not being asked to do anything beyond adhere to the 20-point peace plan it agreed to last October, the officials said. That peace plan already included Hamas giving up its weapons. The officials said it had taken eight months to agree on a framework for doing that.Earlier this month, Hamas – recognised as a terrorist group by the US, Australia and many others – dissolved a political body by which it had governed Gaza for two decades, vowing to “hand over governmental responsibilities” to the incoming technical committee.Since last week, Hamas leaders had been holding talks in Cairo with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. A senior Board of Peace official said the outcome was a result of months of back-and-forth discussions involving many parties, including former British prime minister Tony Blair.“This is truly a historic breakthrough,” the official said.However, they acknowledged uncertainty about how successful the demilitarisation of Gaza would be. A problematic possibility was “civilian control during the day and militants coming out during the night to disrupt this process”, a US official said.There was also the matter of Israeli co-operation. Israel remained deeply sceptical about Hamas’ willingness to disarm or cede control of Gaza, the officials said.Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government welcomed any progress in a process that would disarm Hamas completely and have it play no role in the future of Palestine.“Australia wants to see the implementation of the Gaza peace plan, which has been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council,” she said.“We thank the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye for their ongoing work to advance the agreement and look forward to receiving further detail on this announcement.”The October truce halted full-scale fighting, but has not ended near-daily Israeli strikes. Earlier on Thursday, those strikes killed at least six Palestinians in Gaza, including two children, medics said.The latest deaths add to a toll of more than 1200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, killed by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza health officials.Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza since the ceasefire. Hamas does not usually disclose its losses.Trump thanked Egypt, Qatar and Turkey for mediating the latest agreement, as did US officials on the briefing call. The officials noted there was deep scepticism in Israel about inviting Qatar and Turkey to the process, but they had turned out to be “essential partners”.“One year ago there was a violent raging war, humanitarian crisis and hostages kept in brutal captivity,” Trump said. “We have made historic progress and there is still much work to do.”Smoke rises following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City on Tuesday.AP Photo/Jehad AlshrafiBut Middle East analysts remained sceptical about whether the paper deal would become reality. “We’re a long way from Tipperary on this one,” said Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert and former US State Department negotiator.With Reuters, APGet a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.From our partners