Egypt to host Gaza mediators after Hamas disarmament announcement

Cairo is set to host a meeting on Friday involving mediators from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States to continue discussions on mechanisms for implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The meeting comes as attention focuses on the parties' positions regarding the roadmap announced on Friday, which includes the disarmament of Palestinian group Hamas and other factions.

According to a senior Egyptian source cited by the Associated Press, the meeting aims to finalise the implementation mechanisms for the agreement.

The plan includes a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the besieged Gaza Strip, alongside the initiation of a process to inventory and secure the weapons of Palestinian factions under the supervision of the National Committee for Gaza’s administration, supported by an international stabilisation force and the deployment of Palestinian security forces across the territory.

The source said that the agreement links the start of the disarmament process to the completion of the terms outlined in the ceasefire agreement and the National Committee's entry into Gaza.

The committee would then have 14 days to prepare an implementation plan, with any extension requiring a decision by the verification committee and the consent of all parties.

Earlier on Friday, the so-called Board of Peace and US President Donald Trump announced what they described as an "historic" agreement to implement the next phase of the ceasefire, including a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the disarmament of Palestinian factions.

Trump said the agreement represented a step toward establishing a new Palestinian administration in Gaza and thanked Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey for their mediation efforts.

Hamas made an official statement on Friday announcing that the group agreed to a roadmap as long as Israel was also willing to make concessions, including ending hostilities and withdrawing its troops from the Palestinian enclave, where it currently controls nearly 70% of territory 

Senior Hamas officials also told Agence France-Presse that understandings had been reached with Israel through the mediation of regional actors, including arrangements concerning weapons and the Israeli withdrawal.

Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said the group made "concessions for the sake of the Palestinian people".

He added that the issue of weapons is "linked to Israeli withdrawal, the entry of the National Committee, and reconstruction." He insisted that Israel "will not interfere in this issue."

Two Hamas officials also said the National Committee would be the sole body authorised to inventory and store weapons, while the movement continues to await an official Israeli response and guarantees from the mediators that Israel will uphold the agreement.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a statement that media reports about an agreement between Palestinian factions and Israel were "inaccurate," adding that it has reservations about the version of the agreement currently being circulated.

Sources familiar with the Gaza ceasefire negotiations told The New Arab early Friday that the final agreed framework rests on five main principles. The first is that the measures would apply only to heavy weapons, not other types of arms.

The sources added that the inventorying and storage of heavy weapons, along with weapons depots, military production sites, and tunnels, would be carried out gradually and in phases according to an agreed timetable, after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement has been fully implemented.

So far, the Israeli government has not issued an official response to the announced agreement. However, AFP quoted an Israeli political source as saying that the proposals do not fully meet Israel's demands.

According to the source, Israel continues to insist on the complete disarmament of Hamas and the full demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip before completing any military withdrawal.