Middle East crisis live: Trump says ‘Israel is very happy’ with Gaza peace plan but doesn’t say if withdrawal or Hamas disarmament comes first

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Hamas official says group will hand over weapons to new Gaza administration - Reuters

In further comments to Reuters, Ghazi Hamad said Hamas will hand over its weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a new body established by the Board of Peace to oversee day-to-day affairs in the Palestinian territory.

He said disarmament will be contingent on the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and that the NCAG and international force must enter Gaza and dismantle Israeli-backed militias.

\n \n On Thursday night, Donald Trump declared a breakthrough in negotiations over the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, issues that have so far stalled the implementation of last October’s ceasefire, but Israel has yet to respond officially to the plan and government officials have voiced scepticism over the deal. In particular, there is confusion over what should happen first, Hamas to disarm or the IDF to withdraw.

Trump offered no clarity on the matter of the sequence of events at Friday’s cabinet meeting at Camp David. Asked if Israel was on board, Trump said: “We do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. They helped us and they’ve been very good about it.” There was also confusion over who Hamas would supposedly be handing over its heavy weapons too if the disarmament goes through – Trump said the Board of Peace, but officials announcing the deal said it would be Palestinian authorities.

But at the time of writing, there has still been no confirmation from the Israeli government that it has accepted the agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly, while his far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Friday dismissed the plan as “unacceptable”. An Israeli official also told Reuters: “Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including ​the removal of weapons from Gaza and the complete demilitarisation of the strip as a precondition for ‌any process.” They said the plan under discussion did not “provide a satisfactory response to these demands and Israel conveyed its objections”. In similar vein, an Israeli source told AFP that Israel will not withdraw from the so-called Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip until Hamas undergoes “genuine disarmament”. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said “cosmetic solutions” wouldn’t work and Hamas had to “actually” disarm. He told CNN: “Disarmament means the weapons out of Gaza, they have no control of the weapons, and then we can move forward.”

Hamas, meanwhile, has said it agreed to the roadmap on condition that disarmament was carried out at the same time as Israeli withdrawal. Indeed, the group released a statement saying it remains committed to negotiations on the next phase of the ceasefire, but insisted that Israel must commit to “halting the killing and ending its attacks” and that “handing over heavy weapons is also conditional on Israel ending hostilities and withdrawal from Gaza”. A member of the Hamas negotiating team, Ghazi Hamad, told Al Jazeera: “We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the strip.” Hamad told Agence France-Presse in a separate interview: “The agreement contains a clear provision stating that Israel must commit to and implement its obligations. If Israel does not implement the agreement, neither will we.”

Trump also said the US would be hitting Iran “very hard” when asked by reporters what Tehran can expect in the next few weeks. “At some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” he added. Trump also said he was “losing faith” in negotiations with Tehran, and implied, as he has done in the past, that Iranian negotiators were making him “angry” by saying one thing privately and another publicly. “They always want to talk, but they break their word so often … they just make me angry,” the US president said. “I’m losing faith in them because they do lie and do, they do misrepresent.”

The UN secretary general António Guterres has called the agreement for Hamas to give up its weapons and for Israel to withdraw from Gaza as “the only good news in recent days”.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said:

\n Let me be clear: the fighting must stop on all fronts in the region.\n We are now six months into the military escalation in the Gulf. What began as a regional conflict is increasingly becoming a driver of global instability.”\n

Also at the cabinet meeting earlier, Donald Trump said he was “losing faith” in negotiations with Iran, and implied, as he has done in the past, that Iranian negotiators were making him “angry” by saying one thing privately and another publicly.

\n They always want to talk, but they break their word so often.\n As an example, we’ll talk about nuclear, and we’ll be in there talking about nuclear for seven hours, and I say ... why do you need seven? You can take 10 minutes. You have five minutes, you should solve it.\n And they’ll go out and they’ll say, ‘We never discussed nuclear.’ And I say why, why do they say that? All they do is make me angry. You know, they just make me angry.\n

He added: “I’m losing faith in them because they do lie and do, they do misrepresent.”

Asked what he expects for Iran in the next few weeks, the US president said: “We’ll be hitting them very hard.”

“You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” he added.

Donald Trump has declared a breakthrough in negotiations over the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, but Israeli government officials have voiced scepticism over the deal.

In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to Julian Borger, the Guardian’s senior international correspondent.

Speaking to reporters at his cabinet meeting at Camp David, Donald Trump was asked if he has assurances from Israel that they are on board with the Hamas disarmament deal, and what comes first - the disarmament or the withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza.

The US president replied:

\n We do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. They helped us and they’ve been very good about it.\n

Describing the agreement as “a great breakthrough”, Trump added that, “Nobody ever thought that would be possible, to disarm Hamas.”

\n It’s a big step for the Middle East and people are very impressed by it.\n

Asked whether the deal will go through, Trump acknowledged that it is a “very complex situation” in Gaza, adding:

\n The people are very complex and difficult. In many cases wonderful, in many cases not so wonderful.\n

Trump didn’t provide any other details and – crucially – didn’t answer the other part of the question regarding which would come first - Israel withdrawing from Gaza or Hamas disarming – which remains a key point of contention.

We have yet to hear from Benjamin Netanyahu on Donald Trump’s announcement of the roadmap for implementing the Gaza ceasefire plan, but, as we’ve been reporting, rightwing members of his government have described it as “not acceptable”, while one Israeli official told AFP there would be no IDF withdrawal from the so-called Yellow Line unless Hamas undergoes “genuine disarmament”.

But last night, a US official said that Trump would be be “very, very disappointed” if Israel does not adhere to their end of the peace plan.

“We’re not asking Israel to do anything other than agree to the 20-point plan that they agreed to initially, and so we’re very confident they will adhere to it. If they don’t, obviously President Trump would be very, very disappointed,” the official told reporters, in comments reported by CNN.

“With all the different issues they have going on … this is not something I think [Israel wants] to escalate as an issue right now. So we believe that they’ll continue to be a good partner in this and comply,” they added.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said in a post on X that , “if fully implemented”, the plan to disarm Hamas would be a “constructive step towards peace”.

“A lot needs to fall in place for this to work. Success depends on the full commitment of all parties,” she caveated, adding: “Verifying Hamas’ compliance will be a significant challenge. Israel would need to eventually withdraw from Gaza.”

The EU stands “ready to support the next steps, including the entry of the National Committee and the International Stabilisation Force”, she said.

Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip until Hamas’s “genuine disarmament”, a political source told AFP on Friday after the group said it had agreed to a deal involving its disarmament and Israel’s exit.

“Israel has reiterated that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever of the IDF from the current Yellow Line unless Hamas undergoes a genuine disarmament,” the Israeli source said, referring to a demarcation between the area under Hamas control and that held by the Israeli army.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s minister of national security, has rejected the draft agreement, describing the plan as “not acceptable” to Israel.

In a post on X, Ben-Gvir said:

\n After the October 7 massacre, the blood of every Hamas man is forfeit-and therefore, a commitment to cease the eliminations of the terrorist organisation’s murderers is tantamount to consenting for Hamas to regroup toward the next massacre. The targeted killings in Gaza must continue, encouraging emigration must happen, Israel must win.\n

The far-right minister, who is the first Israeli official to publicly comment on the deal, is known for making controversial remarks on Gaza and has regularly been at loggerheads with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Here’s a video of the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison explaining Ben-Gvir’s role in a protest demanding the re-establishment of three illegal settlements in the northern part of Gaza earlier this month:

Just moments after Hamas issued a statement demanding Israeli troops stopping killing Palestinians (see post at 13:23), Reuters reported at least one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza.

Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has issued a statement on X with more details on its roadmap for implementing the Gaza ceasefire plan. Here are the main points:

• \n All parties reaffirm their commitment to end the violence in Gaza, secure the “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops and allow “a credible political path that achieves self-determination and statehood” for Palestinians.
• \n Both Israel and Hamas will, “without delay”, end all military operations in Gaza. Once this is done and a timetable is set, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) will enter the Strip and assume responsibility for its governance.
• \n Progression from one phase to the following one is contingent upon the completion of all previous phases.
• \n Hamas and other Palestinian factions have agreed that all civilian governance and security will be handed over to NCAG. They have also agreed that NCAG will “enjoy full independence in carrying out its responsibilities” without interference from Palestinian factions.
• \n Upon fulling assuming power in Gaza, NCAG will ensure the continuation of civilian institutions and public services.
• \n Gaza will be governed according to the principle of: “One Authority, One Law, One Weapon”.
• \n All police personnel will undergo comprehensive vetting, and those who do not meet required standards will be offered alternative civilian roles or retirement. New police personnel will be incorporated into the existing police force.
• \n Authorities will begin decommissioning heavy weapons, military production sites, depots of weapons and tunnels.
• \n A temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) will be deployed to separate Israeli forces from NCAG-controlled areas. The ISF will also be responsible for monitoring ceasefire compliance, training the Palestinian police, and delivering humanitarian support and supplies into Gaza.
• \n Israeli forces will complete their phased withdrawal from Gaza Strip. The peace plan includes a commitment from Israel not to force anyone to leave the Strip.
• \n NCAG will be responsible for handling internal security incidents.
• \n The reconstruction of Gaza will be supervised by the Board of Peace and NCAG “in accordance with relevant laws and international standards”.

Reuters has issued a news alert quoting the latest comments from Hamas, reporting the group as saying “the first step in executing the agreement is Israel’s commitment to stop killing and end violations”.

It is likely referring to the near daily Israeli strikes on Gaza since the US-brokered ceasefire was announced in October (including this morning, see post at 10:16), which has killed more than 1,200 Palestinians and injured 3,900 since.

Hamas also repeated its earlier statement that “handing over heavy weapons is also conditional on Israel ending hostilities and withdrawal from Gaza”, Reuters reported.

If you’re just joining us, here are the main developments:

• \n Donald Trump has claimed a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza. Senior Hamas officials have reportedly agreed to the plan, but the question of whether the group disarms before or after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza has emerged as a point of contention.
• \n Ghazi ‌Hamad, a Hamas official involved in the negotiations, ‌said Hamas will hand over its weapons to the new Gaza administration but only if Israel holds up its end of the bargain. Speaking to Reuters, Hamad said disarmament will be contingent on the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and that the NCAG and international force must enter Gaza and dismantle Israeli-backed militias.

• \n Israel must approve the ⁠phased disarmament ⁠agreement ⁠before ​Hamas ‌will ‌implement it, Hamad added. Once both sides ​approve the agreement text, Israel ⁠must begin implementing the ​agreement’s ​first phase, he said.
• \n The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the interim body to which Hamas has offered to hand governing authority to, said it is ready to “assume its responsibilities” in the Palestinian territory. It said it has “completed extensive institutional and operational preparations to take over the administration of the Strip”. Since its inception in January by Trump’s Board of Peace, the NCAG has been unable to enter Gaza largely due to Israeli objections.

Read the full report here:

• \n Just hours after Trump’s announcement, several Palestinians ⁠were ⁠wounded in ​an Israeli ⁠airstrike in ⁠Gaza this morning, according to local health officials.
• \n Elsewhere, Lebanese media reported “massive explosions” overnight in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces say they have blasted an underground tunnel network belonging to Hezbollah. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported explosions in Yahmar al-Shaqif, Arnoun and Kfar Tebnit, all areas close to the Beaufort Ridge that is occupied by the Israeli military.

• \n Also today, a man suspected of spying on a UK military base for Iran has been arrested in Cyprus, the Metropolitan police said. Rashad Sultanov, 44, a dual British-Azerbaijani national from Islington in north London, was arrested on 17 July by Cypriot authorities after he allegedly conducted “hostile surveillance” of RAF Akrotiri and shared information with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
• \n The IRGC said it struck two tankers under US “air escort” that attempted to pass the strait of Hormuz, according to state media. It added that four other tankers “swiftly changed course” and returned to their previous location, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Back to the US-Israeli war on Iran, the IRGC said it struck two tankers under US “air escort” that attempted to pass the strait of Hormuz, according to state media.

In a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, the IRGC said:

\n In the early hours of today, two rogue tankers, under the mistaken belief they could pass [the strait of Hormuz] under the air escort of the child-killing US military, disregarded our warnings and proceeded along an unsafe and illegal path, whereupon they were struck and brought to a halt.\n

It added that four other tankers “swiftly changed course” and returned to their previous location.

The US military did not immediately comment on the claim.

Iran has effective control of the strait of Hormuz, which has largely remained shut to maritime traffic since the start of the war on 28 February.

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the interim body to which Hamas has offered to hand governing authority to, said it is ready to “assume its responsibilities” in the Palestinian territory.

Its statement followed Donald Trump’s announcement last night that Hamas has agreed to disarm as part of the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreed in October.

The NCAG, established in January by Trump’s Board of Peace and based in Cairo, Egypt, has been unable to enter Gaza largely due to Israeli objections. The group is made up of 15 Palestinian technocrats and is led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority.

In a statement on X, the NCAG said:

\n The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) welcomes the progress announced yesterday regarding the roadmap, and the opening of a path toward beginning its implementation.\n This development represents an important milestone for our people in the Gaza Strip. After years of conflict, destruction, and uncertainty, the priority today is to translate this progress into practical steps that have a tangible impact on citizens’ daily lives.\n The NCAG affirms its full readiness to assume its responsibilities. Over the past months, it has completed extensive institutional and operational preparations to take over the administration of the Strip, restore essential public services, strengthen the rule of law, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and lead recovery and reconstruction efforts.\n

Several Palestinians ⁠have been ⁠wounded in ​an Israeli ⁠airstrike in ⁠Gaza this morning, just ​hours ‌after ‌US president Donald Trump announced a deal ‌on Hamas ​disarmament, Reuters reported, citing local health officials.

We will bring you more as we get it.

A man suspected of spying on a UK military base for Iran has been arrested in Cyprus, the Metropolitan police said.

Rashad Sultanov, 44, a dual British-Azerbaijani national from Islington in north London, was arrested on 17 July by Cypriot authorities ⁠and is being held in custody as extradition proceedings progress, the Met said.

He is alleged to have conducted “hostile surveillance” of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and shared information with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In further comments to Reuters, Ghazi Hamad said Hamas will hand over its weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a new body established by the Board of Peace to oversee day-to-day affairs in the Palestinian territory.

He said disarmament will be contingent on the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and that the NCAG and international force must enter Gaza and dismantle Israeli-backed militias.

Israel must approve the ⁠phased disarmament ⁠agreement announced ​by US president Donald Trump ⁠before ​Hamas ‌will ‌implement it, Ghazi ‌Hamad, a Hamas official involved in the negotiations, ‌told Reuters.

Once both sides ​approve the agreement text, Israel ⁠must begin implementing the ​agreement’s ​first phase, ​Hamad ​said.

Trump’s Board of Peace, an organisation established to oversee the Gaza ceasefire, said Hamas agreed to a “detailed road map” for disarmament and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory, but a lot of the details remain unclear.

We are getting some of the first international reactions of the supposed Gaza deal announced by Donald Trump.

In the UK, Louise Haigh, who runs the new office of the prime minister, said any progress in peace negotiations is “extremely welcome” while the government awaits Israel’s response.

“It’s extremely welcome news if there has been any progress in the peace negotiations and any step forward to disarming Hamas,” she told BBC Breakfast.

“Obviously, we will need to await the Israeli government’s response and its commitment to the ceasefire and a way forward and a withdrawal from Gaza, and to cease its activities of settler violence and taking action against such settler violence in the West Bank.

“But if progress has been made, then it’s extremely welcome news, because the suffering in Gaza and the wider region has been too extreme for far too long, and the human cost of the war has been absolutely obscene and intolerable.”

She added: “We’re awaiting the response from the Israeli government, so we’ll set out the details in due course of our wider government response.”

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, local media reported “massive explosions” overnight in the southern parts of the country, where Israeli forces say they have blasted an underground tunnel network belonging to Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported explosions in Yahmar al-Shaqif, Arnoun and Kfar Tebnit, all areas close to the Beaufort Ridge that is occupied by the Israeli military.

The explosions began at about midnight and “reverberated with tremendous and unprecedented force throughout the entire south”, NNA reported.

A correspondent for the news agency said the blasts near Beaufort Castle, the 900-year-old castle and strategic ridge captured by Israeli troops in May, had “caused the windows of a number of houses in the town of al-Qlailah to shatter, due to the force of the blasts and the tremors felt by residents across the region”.

The report added: “The explosions caused damage to some homes, while residents reported that the sound of the blasts was intense, accompanied by a powerful shock wave that shook the town, as well as the smell of gunpowder in the air.”

In a post on X, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) said it “destroyed several key features in the underground tunnel network” in the Beaufort Ridge area. It claimed that the tunnel network, located about 6km (just under 4 miles) from the Israeli town of Metula across the border, was built over 20 years and consisted of several levels, serving as a “central terror headquarters for [Hezbollah’s] “Badir” unit in southern Lebanon, which was funded and planned by the Iranian terror regime”.

“The existence of the infrastructure posed a threat to the residents of the north [of Israel] and to our forces,” the IDF said.

“Over the past weeks, IDF forces have completed their hold on the Beaufort Ridge area, while controlling and clearing the underground infrastructures and preparing them for destruction.”

Donald Trump claims a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but many hurdles and conditions remained in the Palestinian territory.

“The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases,” the US president said on social media. “As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”

Senior Hamas officials have reportedly agreed to the plan, but the question of whether the group disarms before or after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza has already emerged as a point of contention. “We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip,” Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas negotiating team, told ​Al Jazeera.

Earlier an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that the proposed terms were not satisfactory.

“Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including ​the removal of weapons from Gaza and the complete demilitarisation of the Strip as a precondition for ‌any process,” the official said, adding that the plan under discussion did not “provide a satisfactory response to these demands and Israel conveyed its objections”.

You can read more about that news here.

The announcement comes nine months after a US-brokered ceasefire was signed. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas had largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

In the US-Israeli war on Iran, which is showing signs of escalating across the region, Iran’s army on Friday launched drone strikes at US military facilities at the Ahmad Al Jaber airbase in Kuwait. The strikes were in response to recent US attacks on Iran including a strike on a home in Qeshm, Iran’s state media reported.

And Saudi Arabia is preparing for a major military offensive against the Houthis by sea and possibly by land in central Yemen, Yemeni sources believe, in a move to break the chokehold on its oil exports through the southern Red Sea.

In other developments:

• \n Twenty-five commodities vessels passed through the ⁠Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday, while traffic through the strait ⁠of Hormuz ⁠remained ​low with only two tankers transiting, according to Kpler shipping ⁠data.
• \n Analysts are expecting major oil companies to report large profits while fighting between Iran and the US impeded petroleum shipments. Six of Europe’s largest oil companies have posted first-quarter profits of $22bn altogether, a total 43% higher than the same time last year, according to Global Witness.
• \n Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it had set up a maritime defence alliance of 14 regional countries to secure navigation around the Bab al-Mandab strait.
• \n An Iranian strike hit a Chinese firm’s building in Kuwait on Thursday, severely damaging the structure and killing a worker, Kuwait’s military said, hours after Jordan’s air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran.
• \n Egypt’s government said on Thursday authorities were analysing drone fragments from an unprecedented strike on one of its ports, after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned of regional escalation. His government had earlier confirmed that a fire on two gas vessels in the Damietta port – one of which was US-owned – was a result of a drone strike, the first to target the country since the outbreak of the Middle East war.

Key events

• 19m agoThe day so far
• 2h agoUN secretary general: Hamas disarmament deal 'only good news in recent days'
• 3h agoTrump says US will be hitting Iran 'very hard' and he's 'losing faith' as talks continue
• 4h agoCan Trump's Hamas disarmament plan work and will Israel agree to withdraw from Gaza? - podcast
• 5h agoTrump says US has 'an understanding' with Israel on deal - but doesn't say if Hamas disarmament or IDF withdrawal comes first
• 5h agoTrump would be 'very, very disappointed' if Israel doesn't comply with Gaza plan - report
• 5h agoEU welcomes Gaza plan but says 'a lot needs to fall in place' for it to work
• 6h agoIsrael will not leave Gaza until Hamas's 'genuine' disarmament - source
• 7h agoIsraeli minister says peace plan 'not acceptable'
• 7h agoIsraeli strike in Gaza kills at least one person, local health officials say
• 8h agoTrump's Board of Peace publishes roadmap for implementing Gaza ceasefire plan
• 9h agoHamas demands end to Israeli strikes in Gaza
• 10h agoSummary of developments so far
• 11h agoIRGC says it struck two tankers under US 'air escort' in the strait of Hormuz
• 11h agoUS-backed administration says its ready to govern Gaza
• 12h agoPalestinians injured in Israeli airstrike on Gaza hours after Hamas disarmament deal announced - Reuters
• 12h agoMan arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying on UK military base for Iran
• 13h agoHamas official says group will hand over weapons to new Gaza administration - Reuters
• 13h agoIsrael must approve agreement before it is implemented, says Hamas official
• 13h agoHamas disarmament news 'extremely welcome,' says Louise Haigh
• 14h ago'Massive' blasts reported in southern Lebanon as IDF bombs 'Hezbollah tunnels' near Beaufort Castle
• 15h agoOpening summary: Trump claims Gaza deal reached – but hurdles remain

We are pausing this blog for the moment but our latest reporting can be found here:

The day so far

• On Thursday night, Donald Trump declared a breakthrough in negotiations over the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, issues that have so far stalled the implementation of last October’s ceasefire, but Israel has yet to respond officially to the plan and government officials have voiced scepticism over the deal. In particular, there is confusion over what should happen first, Hamas to disarm or the IDF to withdraw.
• Trump offered no clarity on the matter of the sequence of events at Friday’s cabinet meeting at Camp David. Asked if Israel was on board, Trump said: “We do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. They helped us and they’ve been very good about it.” There was also confusion over who Hamas would supposedly be handing over its heavy weapons too if the disarmament goes through – Trump said the Board of Peace, but officials announcing the deal said it would be Palestinian authorities.
• But at the time of writing, there has still been no confirmation from the Israeli government that it has accepted the agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly, while his far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Friday dismissed the plan as “unacceptable”. An Israeli official also told Reuters: “Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including ​the removal of weapons from Gaza and the complete demilitarisation of the strip as a precondition for ‌any process.” They said the plan under discussion did not “provide a satisfactory response to these demands and Israel conveyed its objections”. In similar vein, an Israeli source told AFP that Israel will not withdraw from the so-called Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip until Hamas undergoes “genuine disarmament”. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said “cosmetic solutions” wouldn’t work and Hamas had to “actually” disarm. He told CNN: “Disarmament means the weapons out of Gaza, they have no control of the weapons, and then we can move forward.”
• Hamas, meanwhile, has said it agreed to the roadmap on condition that disarmament was carried out at the same time as Israeli withdrawal. Indeed, the group released a statement saying it remains committed to negotiations on the next phase of the ceasefire, but insisted that Israel must commit to “halting the killing and ending its attacks” and that “handing over heavy weapons is also conditional on Israel ending hostilities and withdrawal from Gaza”. A member of the Hamas negotiating team, Ghazi Hamad, told Al Jazeera: “We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the strip.” Hamad told Agence France-Presse in a separate interview: “The agreement contains a clear provision stating that Israel must commit to and implement its obligations. If Israel does not implement the agreement, neither will we.”
• Trump also said the US would be hitting Iran “very hard” when asked by reporters what Tehran can expect in the next few weeks. “At some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” he added. Trump also said he was “losing faith” in negotiations with Tehran, and implied, as he has done in the past, that Iranian negotiators were making him “angry” by saying one thing privately and another publicly. “They always want to talk, but they break their word so often … they just make me angry,” the US president said. “I’m losing faith in them because they do lie and do, they do misrepresent.”

The Pentagon is considering reversing about half the staff cuts it made to a program dedicated to preventing wartime civilian casualties, the Atlantic reports, as the US military reckons with the human cost of its war against Iran – particularly the strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab on the first day of the war that killed at least 168 people, most of them children.

After US defence secretary Pete Hegseth fired or reassigned almost all of the staff working on the program, the potential reversal now awaits his signature, according to the magazine.

Per the Atlantic’s report, “a Pentagon inspector-general report this spring found that the [US defence] department’s deep cuts in civilian-harm protections may have violated laws designed to safeguard noncombatants. Democrats are urging the department to reverse course. Hegseth’s comments and service history suggest that he will do otherwise. A Pentagon official – who, like other officials, spoke with us on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations – said in a statement that the setup for preventing civilian harm is ‘currently undergoing a strategic reassessment to inform its future reorganization’ and would remain in compliance with congressional requirements, but that no final decisions have been made.”

UN secretary general: Hamas disarmament deal 'only good news in recent days'

The UN secretary general António Guterres has called the agreement for Hamas to give up its weapons and for Israel to withdraw from Gaza as “the only good news in recent days”.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said:

double quotation markLet me be clear: the fighting must stop on all fronts in the region. We are now six months into the military escalation in the Gulf. What began as a regional conflict is increasingly becoming a driver of global instability.”

A 10-year-old child has been shot in the back and injured by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

Local sources were reported to have said that live ammunition was used in the attack by settlers on a farm in the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah.

Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun has called the Israeli army’s detonations near a 12th-century Unesco-listed castle (see 08.00 BST) a “direct threat” to a US-brokered deal between Beirut and Tel Aviv, according to Agence France-Presse.

Aoun’s statement cited the country’s National Centre for Geophysics, saying that the explosions caused “ground waves equivalent to a 3.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale”.

He also raised concerns over the “negative messages” being sent ahead of planned talks in Rome between Lebanese and Israeli representatives.

The explosions took place near Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, in parts of southern Lebanon that remain occupied by the Israeli military.

Lucy Campbell

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has said that Israel is “looking forward to implementing” the plan, but for it to work, Hamas must “actually” be willing to disarm, and that “cosmetic solutions” will not be enough for Israel.

“We have to verify what they are doing, not what they are saying,” he said of Hamas in comments to CNN.

Danon added said that the sequence of events surrounding disarmament, humanitarian aid and the IDF’s withdrawal from the so-called “yellow line” in Gaza could be discussed in future talks.

double quotation markThose issues we can discuss and we can resolve … you can build the sequence with the mediators. The main point is whether Hamas is actually willing to disarm or not. Because if they are playing games and offer cosmetic solutions, it will not work. Disarmament means the weapons out of Gaza, they have no control of the weapons, and then we can move forward.

But Hamas told Reuters earlier that “the first step in executing the agreement is Israel’s commitment to stop killing and end violations [of the October ceasefire agreement]”.

The group added that “handing over heavy weapons is also conditional on Israel ending hostilities and withdrawal from Gaza”.

Asked if Trump should prepare to be disappointed by Israel’s willingness to engage with the peace plan, Danon said: “Absolutely not.”

As we reported earlier, Trump failed to answer a question at his cabinet meeting about the sticking point of what should come first, Hamas’s disarmament or Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Trump says US will be hitting Iran 'very hard' and he's 'losing faith' as talks continue

Also at the cabinet meeting earlier, Donald Trump said he was “losing faith” in negotiations with Iran, and implied, as he has done in the past, that Iranian negotiators were making him “angry” by saying one thing privately and another publicly.

double quotation markThey always want to talk, but they break their word so often. As an example, we’ll talk about nuclear, and we’ll be in there talking about nuclear for seven hours, and I say ... why do you need seven? You can take 10 minutes. You have five minutes, you should solve it. And they’ll go out and they’ll say, ‘We never discussed nuclear.’ And I say why, why do they say that? All they do is make me angry. You know, they just make me angry.

He added: “I’m losing faith in them because they do lie and do, they do misrepresent.”

Asked what he expects for Iran in the next few weeks, the US president said: “We’ll be hitting them very hard.”

“You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” he added.

Can Trump's Hamas disarmament plan work and will Israel agree to withdraw from Gaza? - podcast

Donald Trump has declared a breakthrough in negotiations over the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, but Israeli government officials have voiced scepticism over the deal.

In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to Julian Borger, the Guardian’s senior international correspondent.

Can Trump’s Hamas disarmament plan work and will Israel agree to withdraw from Gaza? - The Latest

Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio hailed the Hamas disarmament deal is “another big step” towards achieving peace in the Middle East, and said it was “something a lot of people thought would never happen”.

In his brief comments, Rubio also attacked the International Criminal Court, saying the court was “illegitimate”.

Trump interjected with a joke to say that US efforts to dismantle the court were not aimed at defending him.

“There’s no information that they are after me, [but] it could happen,” Trump joked. “[Marco] is trying to defend Bibi [Netanyahu] and various other people, but there are many people who shouldn’t be looked at that way. There is no indication that I’m one of them, at this moment.”

A reminder that in November 2024, the ICC issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including “starvation as a method of warfare, and … murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

Just last week, Netanyahu dismissed the charges as “bogus”. Neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC.

Asked who would take possession of Hamas’s weapons if the disarmament goes through, Donald Trump said, “It would be the Board of Peace, mostly,” which he said “has been led by amazing people”.

That contradicts what officials said on Thursday night when the deal was announced – that those weapons would be turned over to Palestinian authorities, the New York Times notes.