US President Donald Trump’s latest proposal to end the war in Gaza hinges on Hamas giving up its weapons and Israel withdrawing from the territory, but the two sides remain divided over which should come first.
The plan, which Hamas has endorsed, has been rejected in its current form by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas and other armed groups have been completely disarmed.
Trump announced what he described as a breakthrough on July 30, saying Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups had accepted a 15-point roadmap developed by his so-called Board of Peace.
The proposal builds on a 2025 ceasefire arrangement that reduced the level of violence but failed to end Israeli military operations in Gaza or achieve the disarmament of Hamas.
Under the latest roadmap, Israel would gradually withdraw from Gaza while the territory, which has been devastated by two years of war, would undergo reconstruction under a new US-backed Palestinian technocratic administration.
What does the plan propose?
The roadmap calls for an immediate halt to all military operations in Gaza and links the Israeli withdrawal to the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups.
A new body known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza would take charge of civilian affairs. It would also oversee the decommissioning and storage of heavy weapons, weapons-production facilities, arms depots and tunnels.
The plan further proposes the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to areas vacated by Israeli troops. The force would help secure those areas, train a new Palestinian police service and facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries.
Situation in Gaza
Israel has reduced the intensity of its attacks since Trump unveiled the proposal. Israeli officials say the military will respond to immediate threats but will no longer carry out targeted killings as part of the arrangement.
However, Gaza health authorities say Israeli strikes since the October 2025 ceasefire have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed by Gaza militants during the same period.
Israel maintains that its operations were aimed at threats to its troops and militants involved in the October 2023 Hamas attacks that triggered the war. Hamas does not publish figures for its military fatalities.
The October ceasefire left Israel in control of more than half of Gaza, a territory that has since expanded to around two-thirds. Israeli forces have bulldozed buildings, destroyed Hamas tunnels and ordered residents to leave areas under their control.
Gaza’s population of nearly two million people is now largely concentrated in a narrow coastal strip controlled by Hamas, with many living in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.
Meanwhile, the Board of Peace has established a base in Israel near the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is expected to serve as a logistics and staging centre for the proposed stabilisation force.
Diplomats say deployment of the force could still be months away. So far, Morocco and Uganda have pledged troops, while Kosovo, Albania and Kazakhstan have offered military planners and medical personnel.
Indonesia, which had earlier offered to send thousands of military personnel for medical and reconstruction work, says its discussions are currently on hold.
Israel and Hamas remain divided
Netanyahu said on Sunday that Trump’s proposal was unacceptable in its current form, although Israel was continuing discussions with Washington.
He reiterated that Israel would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas had been disarmed.
Hamas, meanwhile, has backed the roadmap but objected after the Board of Peace said the group would also be required to surrender light weapons such as guns, with Israeli withdrawal tied to the completion of disarmament.
The original roadmap provides for the process to be carried out in stages.
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy, said the disarmament and Israeli withdrawal would take place “sector by sector”.
Under the proposed arrangement, once a particular area had been verified as effectively free of weapons, with arms secured and rendered unusable, Israeli forces would withdraw from that area. The process would continue until the full withdrawal is completed.
Hamas, however, says it is committed only to the original roadmap, which gives the parties 14 days to agree on a timetable for disarmament. The deadline can be extended, and negotiations are still ongoing.
The disagreement over the sequencing of disarmament and Israeli withdrawal remains the biggest obstacle to implementing Trump’s Gaza plan.
