Israel Approves US Team to Enter Gaza and Prepare for Hamas Disarmament

Amid reports that Hamas is rebuilding its military capabilities and preparing to resume fighting, Israel has approved the entry of an American company operating on behalf of the Board of Peace into the Gaza Strip in the coming days, Kan News reported Sunday evening.

The company's mission is to identify and map locations where Hamas operatives could surrender rifles and other weapons for destruction, as part of US President Donald Trump's plan to demilitarize Gaza.

According to the report, the American team is expected to begin operating in the Rafah and Khan Younis areas of southern Gaza, which are under Israeli control. Team members will survey potential sites and assess locations that would allow armed Hamas operatives to reach weapons handover points safely, with a degree of IDF security.

Under the Board of Peace framework, a gradual IDF withdrawal from areas cleared of terrorists would begin only after Hamas surrenders its weapons. Responsibility for those areas would then be transferred to a technocratic government.

However, no formal mechanism for handing over the weapons has yet been established, and questions remain about how armed operatives could move through Gaza without posing a threat to Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, a senior Israeli defense official told Channel 14 that Hamas has significantly increased its preparations to resume fighting in recent weeks. According to the official, intelligence indicates that the terrorist organization is preparing to launch an attack, although the timing remains unknown.

The official also claimed that Israel is not currently advancing an offensive operation against Hamas because of the election season.

He added that Hamas is recruiting new operatives, including teenagers aged 17 and younger, and putting them through accelerated training programs lasting approximately one week, focused primarily on weapons use.