NPR
Trump's mediators offer Hamas formal proposal to give up its weapons in Gaza
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Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
By
Abu Bakr Bashir
,
Daniel Estrin
A Palestinian militant wearing the uniform of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, Oct. 15, 2025. Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
SHEFFIELD, U.K., and JERUSALEM — Mediators have given Hamas a formal proposal to lay down its weapons, a senior U.S. official told NPR.
The demilitarization proposal was handed over to Hamas last week in Cairo, an additional official in the region said.
A third person briefed on the proposal called it a comprehensive framework to ensure the "complete handover" and "full decommissioning" of arms belonging to Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, and that if Hamas accepts the proposal, it would ensure large-scale reconstruction of Gaza.
Hamas and Israel signed on to President Trump's ceasefire deal last October, in an effort to end two years of war that have devastated Gaza and triggered conflicts across the Middle East.
Hamas officials said they were willing to discuss their weapons but had been waiting for a formal proposal from mediators.
and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a new regional conflict that has engulfed more than a dozen countries.
The members of the new Palestinian transitional committee tasked to run postwar Gaza have still not entered the territory, and no new Palestinian police force or multinational force has been formed.
Robert Danin, a former senior U.S. State Department and White House official specializing in the Middle East, said it was unlikely Hamas would be in any hurry to deliver its response to the demilitarization proposal or agree to it.
"Hamas sees time as being on its side right now," Danin said. "With each passing day, its influence and control on the ground in Gaza strengthens and expands, particularly as long as the Board of Peace's proposed alternative governance structures and forces for Gaza remain stuck outside of the strip. So the longer Hamas can prolong this status quo, the stronger it sees its hand growing for any day after."
Danin said the distraction caused by the war with Iran would also likely draw attention away from pressuring Hamas.
"This means that for the Board of Peace and those seeking to disarm Hamas, the key question is what tools does it have to see Hamas adopt this plan?" he said.
The Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israel. Israel's massive military response killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza and left the coastal enclave in ruins, according to Palestinian health officials.
Despite the fragile ceasefire agreement, over the last six months Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, in what Israel says were attacks targeting Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants.
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− The proposal calls for Hamas and all other militant groups in Gaza to hand over all weapons, making an emerging governing authority responsible for all arms.
+ The proposal calls for Hamas and all other militant groups in Gaza to hand over all weapons, making an emerging governing authority responsible for all the arms.
− The person said Hamas has been asked to respond to the proposal in about a weeks time, after the Muslim Eid holiday.
+ The person said Hamas has been asked to respond to the proposal in about a week, after the Muslim Eid holiday.
A Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told NPR the militant group received a written document and criticized it as a "take it or leave it" offer.
− Senior Hamas officials did not immediately comment, and one Hamas official denied having received a proposal.
+ He said Hamas would first wait to see the outcome of the Iran war before responding.
+ State of the World from NPR What to know about President Trump's Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative in Gaza for President Trump's Board of Peace, said in a social media post the mediators in the conflict agreed to a framework that would lead to reconstruction of Gaza and "a negotiated resolution of the Palestinian question."
"It is now on the table. It requires one clear choice: full decommissioning by Hamas and every armed group, with no exceptions and no carve-outs," the Bulgarian diplomat, who is a former U.N. Middle East envoy, wrote on X.
− Trump's Board of Peace was established to oversee efforts to demilitarize Hamas, establish a multinational stabilization force for Gaza and ensure an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory.
+ Trump's Board of Peace was set up to oversee efforts to demilitarize Hamas, establish a multinational stabilization force for Gaza and ensure an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory.
− The work of the Board of Peace has been largely put on hold, however, since the U.S.
+ Politics Trump gathers members of Board of Peace for first meeting, with some U.S.
+ allies wary The work of the Board of Peace has been largely put on hold, however, since the U.S.
− Despite the fragile truce agreement, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel says the attacks targeted Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants.