Hamas says the handover of its heavy weapons depends on Israel ending "all forms of aggression" and withdrawing from Gaza
It all comes after US President Donald Trump last night announced an agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas, followed by Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
Asked if Israel is on board with the agreement, Trump says he has an "understanding" with the country and "Israel is very happy about it"
Trump doesn't answer whether Hamas disarmament or Israel's withdrawal comes first
A reporter asks President Trump whether he has assurances from Israel that it supports the Hamas disarmament deal, and what comes first - the disarmament or the withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza.
Trump says Israel is "very happy" with the deal and that it helped the US. He adds that no one thought an agreement like this with Hamas would be possible.
"It's a big step for the Middle East," he says.
But when asked whether the deal will go through, he acknowledges that it is a "very complex situation" in Gaza.
"The people are very complex and difficult. In many cases wonderful, in many cases not so wonderful." He doesn't provide further details on the deal, including what comes first.
Asked by the media whether he has assurances from Israel that they are on board with the deal for the disarmament of Hamas, Trump says the US has an "understanding" with Israel
"Israel is very happy," he adds.Hamas says it has agreed to a deal aimed at fully ending Israel’s war on Gaza, including making provisions to disarm and surrender its weapons in stages. Under the agreement, Israel must withdraw its forces over a period of time.
The agreement was announced late on Thursday by US President Donald Trump, after the US-led Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force for Gaza announced that mediators from Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the US had finalised a roadmap for this next phase of the ceasefire.
Egypt is expected to host representatives from the US, Qatar and Turkiye for further talks aimed at ensuring compliance during this second phase.
But Israel has not publicly agreed to the latest proposal and Hamas has said it will not implement any part of the deal unless Israeli forces fulfil their own obligations to withdraw from Gaza under the agreement.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of deep Palestinian distrust of Israel due to its failure to adhere to previous agreements.
Since the US-brokered ceasefire supposedly came into effect on October 10, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians. Israel has also continued to restrict humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and expanded its so-called “Yellow Line” further into the Strip, which experts say may violate the pre-existing ceasefire arrangement underpinned by an initial 20-point peace plan announced by Trump last year.
Questions remain over whether all Palestinian armed groups apart from Hamas would adhere to the agreement and whether Israeli forces would fully withdraw from Gaza.
With Palestinians continuing to suffer daily Israeli attacks, repeated displacement and severe shortages of food, medicine and shelter, the announcement has been met with both hope and scepticism.