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From the Liveblog of
Monday, April 20, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Monday, April 20, 2026
Hamas willing to give up only internal security arms as part of disarmament — report
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Armed members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad greet people gathering for Eid al-Fitr prayers in Gaza City, March 20, 2026. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Hamas is only willing to give up thousands of automatic rifles and “other weapons” held by its internal security forces, two officials from the terror group tell The New York Times.
The concession falls short of the demand by Israel and the United States that the terror group, especially its military wing, give up all its heavy weapons and rockets.
The two officials say that they would turn over the weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the technocratic panel set up by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to govern Gaza after two years of war.
The two officials did not provide a clear answer to the Times when asked if the NCAG could seize weapons belonging to Hamas’s military wing.
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