Disarmament to begin with Hamas police before heavy weapons handed over, tunnels dismantled — official

By Jacob Magid

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31 July 2026, 5:37 am

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Inside a Hamas tunnel located by the IDF in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, in footage published by the military on February 19, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Board of Peace disarmament proposal approved by Hamas will see the terror group first hand over the weapons held by its police force to the NCAG, an official on the panel tells reporters in a briefing call.

That will be followed by the decommissioning of heavy weapons, arms depots and tunnels that exist in Gaza.

Personal weapons left in Gaza will be handed over last, in line with existing Palestinian Authority law, which allows for individuals to carry a gun under strict conditions if properly registered.

IDF-backed militias and armed clans in Gaza will also be required to hand over their weapons as part of this process, the Board of Peace official says.

While weapons will be handed over to the NCAG, the ISF will help facilitate the decommissioning, and its leadership has already been studying ways to ensure the handover can proceed safely.

The framework will be advanced gradually throughout the Strip and be linked strictly to IDF withdrawals — both of which will be monitored by the International Verification Committee.

The process will be based on the principle of “one authority, one law and one weapon principle…. so that we don’t end up in a situation where you have NCAG control during the day and militants coming out during the night to disrupt this process,” the Board of Peace official says.

A “Social Peace Agreement” will also be signed by all factions in Gaza in order to prevent a scenario where one group turns on another once weapons have been turned over, the official said.

Little information is provided during the briefing call regarding the reconstruction of Gaza, beyond that it will be supervised by the Board of Peace and the NCAG “in accordance with international standards,” the Board of Peace official says.

A different Board of Peace official tells The Times of Israel that reconstruction will move ahead in areas that have been decommissioned, with the first pilot housing project set to begin on the ruins of the southern Gaza city of Rafah at the beginning of 2027.

The Board of Peace secured $16 billion in pledges from mainly Gulf countries, which it has refrained from collecting until Hamas accepted its disarmament proposal, the US official says.

Israeli-Cypriot real estate developer and Board of Peace Executive Gaza Executive Board member Yakir Gabay has been negotiating with unnamed contractors and has succeeded in bringing costs down for reconstruction projects, the US official adds.