Hamas agrees to ‘freeze’ weapons use, not surrender them in Gaza deal: Egyptian official

Hamas has agreed to freeze its weapons use but not surrender them under the newly implemented US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Egyptian State Information Service chief Diaa Rashwan.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on Thursday that no Palestinian accepts disarming and Palestinians were in need to weapons and resistance, Reuters reported.

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Amid broad international welcome for the agreement, which marks the first phase of a ceasefire plan in Gaza and a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, the US-brokered deal officially went into effect on Thursday.

Rashwan explained in an appearance on Al Arabiya on Wednesday night that the freeze is part of a truce proposal Hamas previously presented to Israel, lasting between five and ten years.

He clarified that Hamas’ weapons will not be handed over to Israel or any non-Arab entity. The agreement does not specify who would oversee them, but refers to an independent committee that could be Egyptian, Egyptian-Arab, or Egyptian-Arab-Palestinian.

According to US President Donald Trump’s 20 point Gaza deal, “there will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors.”

Rashwan added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had aimed to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities during the Gaza war but failed to do so. He said Netanyahu now seeks a “theatrical scene” to showcase the disarmament through the ongoing agreement after two years of war.

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