Media: Hamas ready to lay down heavy arms under cease-fire deal

The militant group Hamas has indicated its willingness to decommission its heavy armaments as part of a cease-fire agreement.

This development follows remarks by Palestinian-American mediator Bishara Bahbah, who said Hamas has pledged “not to develop any weapons on Gaza territory nor engage in smuggling weapons into the enclave,” Caliber.Az reports, citing Asharq Al‑Awsat. 

However, negotiations remain tense, as Israel insists the disarmament process must include the destruction of all Hamas tunnels — a key sticking point in the talks.

Bahbah said US administration officials had informed him that Washington is open to a proposal under which Hamas would surrender only its heavy weapons. 

He added that discussions could soon be held at the UN Security Council — possibly next week or the one after — on a draft resolution currently being negotiated behind closed doors regarding the deployment of stabilisation forces in Gaza, amid four unresolved points of contention. 

According to Bahbah, who remains closely connected to both White House circles and Hamas leadership, Washington will not allow the US-brokered Gaza cease-fire deal — reached last month — to collapse. 

He stressed that “the displacement of Palestinians is not currently on the table” and accused Israel of deliberately delaying the implementation of the agreement and the start of its second phase. 

As part of the first phase of the deal, Hamas handed over 20 hostages to Israel in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and partial withdrawals from Gaza, as well as the repatriation of 17 bodies — 15 Israelis, one Nepali, and one Thai.

Eleven more bodies remain unrecovered for logistical reasons, according to Hamas, which requested Israeli approval about a week ago for an Egyptian team to assist in the search. 

Israel, however, has refused to move to the second phase, which involves administrative and security arrangements related to reconstruction and border crossings until all remains are retrieved.

By Jeyhun Aghazada