Whitkoff confirmed at the American Business Forum in Miami last Thursday evening that “Hamas has long indicated that it would surrender its weapons… they told us directly.” Whitkoff noted that the United States is pressuring Israel to allow the exit of Hamas fighters trapped in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, expressing hope that “Hamas” will adhere to its words.
He added, “If they do so, they will realize that the development plan we have for Gaza is truly amazing—much better than what has been proposed before, and the plan will include a massive job creation program.” He explained that the United States “is in the process of establishing a disarmament and amnesty program,” noting that “Hamas has made it clear that it will hand over its weapons to an international security force, and I hope to form this force within the next three weeks.”
In the same context, American media reported last Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to exploit the potential disarmament of “Hamas” members existing in tunnels under the city of Rafah in southern Gaza as a “test case” for a disarmament formula that could be repeated later in other areas of the sector.
The American newspaper reported from sources that the United States offered Israel a plan whereby “Hamas” fighters in the tunnels would surrender and hand over their weapons to a third party in exchange for “a guarantee of amnesty from the Israeli side.” They would then be moved from areas under Israeli control to areas under “Hamas” control, after which the tunnels would be destroyed.
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, and under it, “Hamas” handed over 20 live Israeli prisoners to Israel along with several bodies, while Israel released about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and bodies of Palestinian prisoners.
It is noteworthy that President Donald Trump announced on October 9 that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement to implement the first phase of the peace plan, which aims to end the ongoing armed conflict for two years in the Gaza Strip.
Trump’s plan, proposed on September 29, includes 20 points, the most notable of which is an immediate ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages within 72 hours, the formation of a technocratic administration under international supervision led by Trump himself, without the participation of “Hamas” or other Palestinian factions in governance. Under the agreement, 20 hostages were released, having been held since October 7, 2023, while Israel released 1,718 prisoners from Gaza who returned to their homes, in addition to 250 Palestinian prisoners with life or long-term sentences who were moved to other Palestinian territories or deported.
