U.S.-led mediators claim Hamas could sign an agreement within days to disarm and cede control of the Gaza Strip, a move officials describe as critical to ending the two-year conflict and beginning reconstruction. The Trump administration’s Board of Peace has centered the talks on a strict precondition: the complete decommissioning of Hamas’ military capabilities before a new Palestinian technocratic government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), assumes power.
The framework, negotiated in El Alamein, Egypt, demands Hamas provide maps of its tunnel networks, weapons production facilities, and arms depots. Heavy and light weapons would be placed in storage over a six-to-eight-month period under the supervision of the NCAG and an international stabilization force. Implementation is to be gradual, with the new government taking control of a section only after it is verified as demilitarized. The plan also stipulates that anti-Hamas militias armed during the war will be disarmed and demobilized.
Financial Strangulation as Leverage
Sources involved in the talks indicate Hamas’ worsening financial crisis is a key driver of the potential breakthrough. “We think we’ve managed to bring Hamas to a place where they can’t say no,” one source said, citing a months-long campaign to cut off the group’s funding streams. This economic pressure, combined with intense diplomatic coercion from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, has been central to the U.S. strategy. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad has played a pivotal role in hosting and advancing the dialogue.
While mediators express cautious optimism, no final approval has been given. Israeli officials and Western diplomats remain skeptical that Hamas will genuinely forfeit its arsenal. Countervailing pressure is reportedly coming from Tehran, where Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials recently urged a Hamas delegation to stall for time. For American interests, the central metric for any deal remains concrete disarmament, not paper promises. The cost of failure is measured in prolonged instability that distracts U.S. resources and threatens broader regional order.
Reconstruction and American Interest
Large parts of Gaza lie in ruins, and most of its 2 million residents remain in temporary shelters. The reconstruction process, expected to require massive international funding, cannot begin until a unified security authority is established. The U.S. position is that American taxpayer interests are best served by a stable outcome that eliminates a terrorist force from governance and curtails the need for perpetual foreign engagement. The deal's success would remove a primary source of regional friction that has long distorted U.S. foreign policy calculations away from domestic priorities.