12 February 2026

Hamas Would Keep Some Arms Initially in Draft Gaza Plan, Officials Say

Adam Rasgon Natan Odenheimer and Abu Bakr Bashir

The United States is demanding that Hamas surrender all weapons that are capable of striking Israel, but will allow the group to keep some small arms, at least initially, according to a draft plan, officials and people familiar with the proposal said. An American-led team, which includes Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law; Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for peace missions; and Nickolay Mladenov, a former senior United Nations official, intends to share the document with Hamas within weeks.

The officials, including a regional diplomat, and people familiar with the plan spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the details. They cautioned that the details could still change and different drafts could yet emerge. Still, if the plan is presented to Hamas, it would represent a significant effort toward demilitarizing the armed group, a key element of Mr. Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza that formed the basis of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas after two years of war.


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