Gaza Genocide10 August, 20263 min read
Final Gaza Agreement Drops Explicit Hamas Weapons Ban, Netanyahu Orders IDF Strike Halt
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Final Gaza agreement omits explicit ban on Hamas weapons. Israel nixes Gaza deal, insists Hamas disarm.
The Jerusalem Post was read line by line by the Watchdog: 6.6. See the score →
Deal omits Hamas weapons ban
A final Gaza agreement discussed by the Board of Peace dropped clauses that explicitly stipulated that Hamas would not possess weapons, with The New York Times citing sources familiar with the negotiations. The Haaretz report says the final agreement still commits the organization to "decommission and store" heavy weapons as part of a process led by Palestinian technocrats supported by the United States, but it adds that the timetable for handing over weapons and the manner of Israel's withdrawal were not yet determined. Haaretz also reports that three sources told the newspaper that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to stop strikes in the Gaza Strip after pressure exerted by the Board of Peace, and it says that since that evening Israel has not attacked the Strip, according to Mahmoud Basal, a senior official in Gaza civil defense.
In parallel, the Jerusalem Post describes a Board of Peace 15-point plan that was rejected by Netanyahu on Sunday, saying it failed to see Hamas relinquish its weapons and instead only saw the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza store and decommission them under point 8. The Jerusalem Post further quotes Netanyahu rejecting a deal promising only "fictitious disarmament," saying "When I say Hamas is disarmed, that means the heavy weapons, the less heavy weapons – all the weapons," as it frames the dispute over what disarmament would actually mean.
Netanyahu rejects, Hamas replies
Netanyahu told the cabinet meeting that Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed, and Haaretz quotes him saying, "When I say disarming Hamas, that means heavy weapons, less heavy weapons, all weapons."
Haaretz reports that Hamas responded to Netanyahu by saying it "adheres to what was agreed with the mediators and the Board of Peace regarding the roadmap," and it says Hamas stressed that priority must be given to ensuring implementation of the agreement in all its stages.
The Jerusalem Post adds that Netanyahu rejected the Board of Peace proposed agreement to disarm Hamas, and it says the plan would leave Israel restricted in its ability to deal with immediate and emerging threats while allowing Hamas to remain armed with "personal weapons."
In the same Jerusalem Post account, Dr. Igal Shiri warned that it remained unclear whether a complete inventory of Hamas’s weapons production facilities, tunnels and other infrastructure would be handed over and whether these structures would be dismantled or destroyed under supervision not allied with Hamas.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Netanyahu dismissed a deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump for Gaza, saying Israel's military "will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed," and it quotes Netanyahu demanding that Hamas give up "Heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry."
What comes next, what’s at risk
The Jerusalem Post says Dr. Igal Shiri warned that a political crisis or collapse of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or an armed takeover of storage facilities like the one seen during Hamas’s 2007 takeover of Gaza, could result in Hamas being rearmed.
It also says Shiri warned that it remained unclear whether the IDF would be expected to withdraw before or after Hamas disarms, and it points to point 13 demanding withdrawal while raising concerns about Israel’s right to self-defense.
Haaretz reports that a senior Board of Peace official told Reuters that talks with Israel are continuing and that Israel is not being asked to take irreversible steps before "verified actions on the ground" take place.
Haaretz also says the plan for the Strip is still operative, and it reports that a senior Board of Peace official said Israel is not being asked to take irreversible steps before those verified actions occur.
Against that backdrop, the Jerusalem Post frames Shiri’s assessment that the restrictions on the IDF’s use of force threaten its ability to respond to immediate and emerging threats, while the agreement’s vagueness leaves the fate of Hamas operatives and commanders unclear under the proposed points.