Saudi report says Hamas could offer guarantees on disarmament, paving way for lasting Gaza ceasefire

Hamas officials have shown “flexibility” on the issue of disarmament, which Israel has demanded as a condition for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Saudi outlet Asharq News reports, as Israel awaits the Palestinian terror group’s response to a ceasefire and hostage deal proposal.

Citing unnamed Hamas officials familiar with the matter, Asharq News reports that the terror group may commit, through mediators Qatar and Egypt, to put an end to weapons smuggling, shut down weapons manufacturing operations in the Gaza Strip, and hand over their existing weapons supplies to be stored in a location without any Hamas presence.

Additionally, the officials say that the terror group could agree to temporarily exile a symbolic number of its officials who currently reside in Gaza, as a way of compromising with Israel’s demand to deport Hamas leaders out of the Palestinian enclave.

Even if Hamas successfully meets Israel’s conditions for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war that has been raging since October 7, 2023, the sources tell Asharq that there is still a way to go regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and its governance.

Israel has said that Hamas cannot have any role in running the war-torn Palestinian enclave, but mediators believe that this cannot happen overnight, and that there will need to be a transitional phase. Speaking to Asharq, the unnamed Hamas sources say that the terror group will likely insist on maintaining control over law enforcement systems inside the Strip.

“The movement is the only entity capable of understanding the dynamics of Gazan society and maintaining security there,” one source tells the Saudi news outlet, adding that this is truer than ever “after two years of war, during which societal collapses occurred as a result of killing, destruction, starvation and displacement.”