Trump and Hamas at Odds Over Gaza Disarmament Claims

President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff expressed confidence Thursday that Hamas will disarm under the U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire plan, a claim immediately contradicted by the militant group’s leadership.

During his tenth Cabinet meeting of his second term, Trump projected certainty about Hamas laying down weapons. “And now we want to get Hamas, no guns, right? To disarm,” Trump said. “A lot of people said they’ll never disarm. It looks like they’re gonna disarm.”

Witkoff reinforced this message, telling the president the process was already underway. “We’ve got the terrorists out of there, and they’re going to demilitarize. They will, because they have no choice,” Witkoff stated. “They’re going to give it up. They’re going to give up the AK-47s.”

However, Hamas officials quickly challenged these assertions. Senior Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk directly contradicted the White House narrative, stating that the group “never agreed to disarm; no one’s raised it with us directly.” Abu Marzouk emphasized that Hamas maintains firm control in Gaza, according to reporting by The Times of Israel.

The dispute centers on the implementation of Phase Two of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, which calls for a technocratic committee to govern Gaza’s civilian affairs and manage reconstruction efforts once the ceasefire stabilizes.

“We are in the second phase now… we’ve stood up, for the first time, Mr. President, on your behalf, a technocratic, all-Arab government,” Witkoff said during the Cabinet meeting.

Regional security experts warn that the reality on the ground may be more complex than the administration’s statements suggest. Professor Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital that Hamas “doesn’t intend to disarm itself and never intended to.”

“Hamas will do all the possible and creative maneuvers and manipulations in order to keep its power and influence in the Gaza Strip,” Michael explained, suggesting a fundamental disconnect between U.S. expectations and Hamas’s intentions.

The gap between these positions raises serious questions about the viability of the peace plan’s implementation. According to Michael, “The Israel Defense Forces are the only entity that can disarm Hamas,” noting that “no one besides Turkey is willing to send its troops to the International Stabilization Force in order to fight Hamas.”

This International Stabilization Force, authorized by the United Nations to oversee security and demilitarization in Gaza, faces significant challenges without broader international participation.

Further complicating matters, Abu Marzouk reportedly indicated that Hamas effectively holds veto power over appointments to the newly formed technocratic committee meant to govern Gaza. This arrangement could undermine the committee’s independence and ability to function as envisioned in the Trump plan.

The reconstruction of Gaza presents another major challenge. The United Nations estimates costs will exceed $50 billion to rebuild infrastructure for the territory’s more than 2 million residents. But Professor Michael warns that Hamas could exploit the reconstruction process and new governance structures.

“They will use the existing bureaucracy that will be operated by the technocrats to control and influence the way this government will actually operate — the Hezbollah model,” Michael said. He added that Hamas has already “demanded more time, Israeli troop withdrawals and immediate reconstruction while quietly preserving its military capabilities.”

These conflicting narratives between the Trump administration and Hamas leadership suggest that despite the White House’s optimism, significant obstacles remain in implementing the Gaza peace plan. As Professor Michael concluded, “Trump may conclude that nobody can disarm Hamas but the Israel Defense Forces. Then it will become clear that Hamas is the ultimate spoiler and is a major obstacle in Trump’s Gaza plan.”