Trump Claims Hamas Is Set to Disarm as Hamas Publicly Rejects U.S. Plan

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that “it looks like” Hamas is “going to disarm,” speaking during a cabinet meeting, which came as Hamas officials insisted hours earlier that no such agreement exists.

The remarks land at a sensitive moment, as Washington presses ahead with the second phase of its plan to end the Israel–Hamas war and reshape Gaza’s governance. The issue of Hamas’s weapons has become the central fault line, with the US asserting progress, Hamas denying it outright, and Israel warning that demilitarization must come before reconstruction.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, echoed the president’s confidence during the same meeting. “They will because they have no choice,” Witkoff said of Hamas. “They’re going to give up their AK-47s.” Witkoff added that Phase II of the US-backed plan is underway and said the administration has, for the first time, put in place a technocratic, all-Arab governing framework for Gaza.

US officials have also outlined mechanisms they say will be used to push Hamas to give up its weapons. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said this week that Hamas would be urged to cede its arms through an international buy-back program. Under the plan, participants would receive funds or jobs and amnesty in exchange for turning in weapons. Arab diplomats have described the buy-back as part of a broader decommissioning initiative that envisions Hamas gradually handing over its arsenal, beginning with heavy weaponry. Israeli officials are unlikely to accept such a sequence, arguing that light weapons have also been used by Hamas to maintain control over Gaza.

During the cabinet meeting, Trump also praised Hamas’s role in the return of the hostages from Gaza, including those who were killed. “Hamas was a big factor in getting all of the hostages back. They found the dead hostages,” Trump said. Israel has yet to confirm that claim.

Hamas leaders however have publicly rejected the notion that they agreed to disarm. Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said Wednesday that the group never accepted any such demand, contradicting Trump and Witkoff. “We haven’t discussed the weapons yet; no one has spoken to us directly about it,” Abu Marzouk said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “Not for a single moment did we talk about the surrender of weapons, or any formula about destroying, surrendering, or disarmament.” He added that if Hamas was not disarmed after more than two years of war, it would not happen through negotiations, though he said discussions could address which weapons might be removed and how.

Phase II of the plan calls for day-to-day governance in Gaza to be transferred from Hamas to the newly formed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a 12-member technocratic body headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath. Several additional bodies are set to operate under the umbrella of the Board of Peace, a group of world leaders inaugurated by Trump last week. Israeli defense officials believe Hamas will soon formally relinquish authority to the committee, but an Israeli security official said the terror group is expected to retain de facto control in areas of the Strip not under IDF presence, at least in the short term.

Diplomatic talks are also underway over the reopening of the Rafah crossing. While some Israeli assessments suggested it could open as early as Sunday, officials involved in the process said no final date has been agreed upon. Board of Peace officials have warned that delays are strengthening Hamas, including through revenue it collects by taxing humanitarian aid trucks. They said that once the plan is implemented, oversight of aid routes would shift to the technocratic government.

Those officials stressed that foreign armies will not confront Hamas inside Gaza. If the terror group refuses to move forward with disarmament, they said, “the IDF will deal with it.” They added that the technical details of weapons handover are still being finalized, but the process is expected to begin in March.