An American team is preparing to enter Gaza to establish weapons handover sites, marking a key step in implementing Trump’s plan to disarm Hamas, while Israel remains skeptical.
By Hezy Laing
An American company has received Israeli approval to enter Gaza and identify locations where Hamas terrorists could surrender their weapons, according to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.
The mission, operating under President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, is expected to focus on Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces maintain control.
The team will survey possible weapons collection sites, marking a practical step toward implementing Trump’s plan to disarm Hamas and eventually transfer control of Gaza to a Palestinian civilian administration.
But the mission faces a fundamental obstacle: Israel remains deeply skeptical that Hamas intends to give up its military capabilities.
How would Hamas surrender its weapons?
The American team must identify locations where armed Hamas members could safely approach collection points without threatening Israeli troops.
That presents an unusual security challenge. Israeli forces would need to distinguish between terrorists arriving to surrender weapons and those who might attempt to exploit the arrangements to launch attacks.
The Board of Peace has confirmed that it is coordinating with Israeli authorities to establish the necessary security procedures.
Under the proposed framework, weapons would be transferred to a Palestinian administrative body, with an international force helping supervise the process.
US Major General Jasper Jeffers has reportedly been designated to oversee the transfer of surrendered weapons.
However, the collection sites, security guarantees and procedures for verifying surrendered weapons have not been finalized.
Israel demands more than surrendered rifles
For Israel, collecting rifles is only one part of dismantling Hamas’s military power.
The terrorist organization has spent years building an extensive network of underground tunnels, rocket production facilities, weapons workshops and ammunition depots.
In January 2024, Israeli troops uncovered a major weapons manufacturing complex in central Gaza, including underground workshops connected by tunnels that allowed weapons and ammunition to be moved throughout the area.
Such facilities illustrate why disarmament cannot be measured simply by counting the firearms Hamas hands over.
The Board of Peace’s roadmap calls for dismantling heavy weapons, military production facilities, weapons depots and tunnels, with international monitors verifying compliance.
The plan also links Israeli military withdrawals to progress in disarmament rather than requiring troops to leave on a fixed timetable.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must be fully disarmed before Israel completes its withdrawal.
Hamas accused of rebuilding its forces
The American initiative comes amid Israeli warnings that Hamas is using the ceasefire to rebuild its military strength.
A senior Israeli defense official reportedly told Channel 14 that Hamas had intensified recruitment, including among teenagers, and was providing accelerated weapons training. Those specific allegations have not been independently verified.
Israeli security officials have also expressed concern that Hamas is preparing for renewed fighting rather than abandoning its military ambitions.
Despite its acceptance of a broader disarmament framework announced in July, Hamas has not completed the weapons handover required by the plan.
The framework itself has been disputed, with Israeli officials questioning whether its provisions would adequately prevent Hamas from retaining or rebuilding military capabilities.
Can Israel verify that Hamas has disarmed?
The greatest challenge may come after the first weapons are surrendered.
International monitors would need to establish whether Hamas had disclosed its weapons stockpiles, abandoned its military facilities and dismantled the underground infrastructure used to support its forces.
Verifying those steps would be especially difficult in Gaza, where Hamas has spent years concealing weapons and military equipment in tunnels and other hidden locations.
The proposed American mission could establish the first collection sites, but it cannot by itself guarantee that Hamas will comply.
Even if Hamas agrees to surrender its rifles, Israel will still face a far more difficult task: determining whether the terrorist organization has given up the weapons it possesses, or merely the weapons it is willing to reveal.
