Trump’s Gaza Plan Stalls as Hamas Resists Disarmament and U.S. Talks Continue

President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan appears stalled as Hamas continues to strongly resist disarmament while the situation on the ground deteriorates, according to L'Orient Today.

“Photo: The 'New Gaza' is presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 22, 2026 © user X”

Association France Palestine Solidarité

The L'Orient Today report says that several months after Trump unveiled a 20-point plan in Sharm al-Sheikh to end the war in Gaza and launch a multi-phase transition, the process “appears stalled.”

Association France Palestine Solidarité

It describes the territorial reality as Israel still controlling roughly half of the enclave, including a largely depopulated buffer zone behind what it calls a “yellow line,” while the remainder remains under Hamas authority.

The same account says Hamas, despite being significantly weakened by months of fighting, continues to exercise administrative control, maintain internal security structures, and retain its weapons.

L'Orient Today adds that diplomatic efforts have not ceased, pointing to “Meetings in Cairo, indirect exchanges through mediators, and rare direct contacts between U.S. officials and Hamas representatives.”

It also frames negotiations as ongoing under Washington’s Board of Peace, stating that “suggest negotiations led by Washington’s Board of Peace are ongoing.”

The Today (Western Mainstream) article reproduces the same framing, describing the plan as “at a standstill” and emphasizing that Hamas “continues to strongly resist disarmament.”

Reuters reporting via GV Wire portrays the Board of Peace’s Gaza effort as moving but constrained by disarmament and implementation deadlines.

Nickolay Mladenov, described as the Board of Peace’s lead envoy for Gaza, told Reuters that he was “fairly optimistic” that an arrangement for disarmament could be agreed, but he cautioned that it “will still take time.”

Courrier international

He said, “We’ve had some very serious discussions with Hamas over the last few weeks, they’re not easy,” and he added, “I’m fairly optimistic that we will be able to come up with an arrangement that works for all sides and, most importantly, works for the people in Gaza.”

The Reuters account says Trump proposed the Board of Peace in September to oversee his plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza, and that Israel and Hamas agreed in October to a plan that includes Israeli troops withdrawing and reconstruction starting as Hamas lays down its weapons.

Mladenov told Reuters that work was underway on an implementation plan that would include disarmament, new governance in Gaza, and provisions for an Israeli withdrawal, while also stressing urgency: “We have a matter of days, maximum a couple of weeks, that is my assessment, because otherwise we will lose the momentum of what we have.”

He also linked the negotiations to specific on-the-ground issues, saying there was “a whole set of issues that need to be handled on the ground, including the yellow line,” and that access for aid and medicine was also under discussion with Israel.

The same Reuters report describes incremental changes at Rafah, saying, “We’ve been able to, over the last few days, gradually and very carefully increase the number of people that are allowed to cross through the Rafah crossing.”

Reuters reporting in سكاي نيوز عربية says the war in Iran is hindering Trump’s Gaza peace plan, with talks “stalled since last week” after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran.

“Ceasefire in Gaza: how will the second phase of the American plan to end the war be implemented”

franceinfo

The report states that “Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday” that negotiations aimed at advancing Trump’s plan have stalled since last week after the strike on February 28.

It frames the disruption as a threat to derail the implementation of Trump’s “flagship Middle East peace initiative,” which Reuters says he presented as a major objective of his foreign policy.

The same Reuters account says the plan focused on forcing Hamas to lay down its weapons in exchange for amnesty for its leaders to pave the way for rebuilding the Gaza Strip and for an additional withdrawal of Israeli forces.

It adds that “White House mediators were conducting indirect contacts between Israel and Hamas on disarmament,” but that “the negotiations stopped when Washington and Tel Aviv attacked Iran on February 28.”

One source with direct knowledge of the Peace Council’s work described the halt as a delay caused by aerial disturbances, saying it was “a short, minor delay caused by aerial disturbances, which prevented mediators and representatives from moving around the region to advance the talks.”

A Palestinian official close to mediation efforts said Hamas expected talks with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey on the day the war broke out, but that “the meeting was canceled and no new date was set.”

Radio France frames the Gaza peace plan’s next steps around the return of Hamas hostages to Israel and the conditions for moving into a second phase.

It says, “As the remains of the last Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, were repatriated from Gaza to Israel on Monday, January 26,” the question becomes whether “the American plan for Gaza proceed[s].”

GV Wire

The report states that “The return of all Hamas hostages was a necessary condition to resume the American peace plan,” and it describes the hostage as “the last of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas.”

It also says that “Until then, his body had not yet been located,” and that “According to Donald Trump, Hamas provided indications to locate the body.”

Radio France then links the next tangible sign to Rafah, saying “The first tangible sign is the announced reopening for this week of the Rafah border crossing,” and it states that the crossing “would have already had to reopen in October, according to the American peace plan.”

The report emphasizes that the Israeli government is conditioning the reopening, warning that “it is a pedestrian-only reopening,” and that “it fears that truck deliveries could conceal weapons.”

It also quotes Benjamin Netanyahu warning that if Hamas is not disarmed, “there will be no reconstruction of Gaza,” and it notes that Netanyahu is “preparing elections in Israel by October.”

Franceinfo and Courrier international describe how the second phase of the American plan is meant to work, while also underscoring the political and security stakes tied to demilitarization and governance.

“FOCUS Trump's Gaza plan is at a standstill Despite hesitant concessions, Hamas continues to strongly resist disarmament, as the situation in Gaza deteriorates”

L'Orient Today

Franceinfo says the United States formalized entry into the “next phase” on Thursday, January 15, with the launch of a Peace Council and the creation of a Palestinian governance committee intended to manage Gaza’s day-to-day affairs after “more than two years of war with Israel.”

Radio France

It quotes Donald Trump asserting on Truth Social that “These Palestinian leaders are firmly committed to a peaceful future,” while also noting that the message does not specify who will sit on the bodies.

Franceinfo says the first phase was to win acceptance of a ceasefire, and it states that the truce went into effect on October 10, allowing Israel to recover the last hostages alive and dead captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

It then describes the second phase as establishing a “Palestinian transitional technocratic administration,” explaining that Steve Witkoff said this on X on Wednesday, and it gives the official name as the “National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.”

Franceinfo also lays out the second phase objectives as “the 'complete demilitarization' of Gaza as well as the reconstruction of the enclave devastated by Israeli strikes,” and it quotes Steve Witkoff saying the priority is “the 'disarmament of all unauthorized personnel.'”

Courrier international reports that Hamas is praising Trump’s plan for Gaza even as Israel bars entry into the enclave of Palestinian technocrats of the Gaza National Administrative Committee (CNAG), and it says “It is estimated that more than 50,000 civil servants” were employed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.