10 questions (and expert answers) about the deal to disarm Hamas

Atlantic Council  |  Jonathan Panikoff, Alan Pino, Jennifer Gavito

The US-led Board of Peace announced an agreement to disarm Hamas and secure the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, establishing an initial fourteen-day window for implementation timetables. Hamas officials confirmed acceptance under intense pressure from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces domestic political friction and has yet to formally endorse the framework.

Achieving total demilitarization requires the group to surrender all personal firearms alongside heavy weaponry to the newly envisioned National Committee for the Administration in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli troops must retreat to the designated Yellow Line while a United Nations–authorized International Stabilization Force containing roughly two hundred multinational soldiers deploys to prevent a security vacuum. However, lingering ambiguities regarding weapon classification, mutual distrust, and conflicting interpretations between Jerusalem and regional mediators threaten to derail execution before a full transition can take root across the Palestinian enclave.

Comment

Deploying the International Stabilization Force into an urban theater without complete factional disarmament exposes garrison personnel to asymmetric ambushes. Small-arms proliferation across non-state cadres routinely undermines ceasefire monitoring frameworks by enabling clandestine hit-and-run engagements. Such operational friction transfers immediate counter-insurgency burdens onto lightly equipped multinational contingents. Consequently, peace-enforcement mandates risk rapid degradation into defensive attrition when primary belligerents maintain dual-use stockpiles.

Strategic Question for Discussion

If the International Stabilization Force enters Gaza prior to comprehensive small-arms decommissioning, which operational mechanism best prevents multinational units from being drawn into localized counter-insurgency combat?

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