US and Israel agree on American general to verify Hamas disarmament before Gaza withdrawal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner have agreed that an American general would oversee the verification of Hamas disarmament before any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to an Israeli official. The understanding was reached on Monday in Jerusalem, as Washington tries to revive its Gaza peace plan amid continuing tensions with Netanyahu. Israel says there will be no redeployment or reconstruction in the Gaza Strip until Hamas gives up its weapons.
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A senior Israeli official said the two sides agreed that no redeployment or reconstruction would take place before Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza. The official added that the first step toward demilitarising the territory would be for Hamas to hand over its weapons for decommissioning under the supervision of an American general. The row comes after Kushner held rare direct talks with Hamas in Egypt a day earlier, while the group has publicly committed itself to the plan.
The arrangement is significant because it links any Israeli military pullback to a verified disarmament process, rather than to a fixed timetable. It also places a US military figure at the centre of a sensitive phase of the plan, with the International Stabilization Force mentioned as the body that would supervise decommissioning under a roadmap agreed by Hamas on 30 July. That roadmap is intended to support a possible deployment to Gaza if conditions calm.
The talks also reflect the wider effort by President Donald Trump's administration to keep its Gaza initiative alive after Netanyahu publicly rejected the latest part of the proposal. Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law and a longtime family friend of Netanyahu, met the Israeli leader in Jerusalem after the Egypt discussions. The Israeli official said the understanding was meant to satisfy Israel's demand that Hamas be disarmed before any further steps on withdrawal or reconstruction.
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The plan remains politically sensitive because Hamas has said it would hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian governing body, an idea that has drawn scepticism from Netanyahu. An official with Trump's Board of Peace said every weapon collected would be fully decommissioned so it could not be used again. That official also said Israel would retain its right of self-defence if Hamas resorts to violence or tries to rearm.
What remains unclear is how quickly the verification mechanism could be put in place, who would take part in the wider implementation process, and how Hamas would respond to the sequencing demanded by Israel. It is also not clear when any Israeli withdrawal or reconstruction work could begin, or whether the current understanding will hold through the next round of talks. The next developments are likely to depend on whether the disarmament terms can be translated into an agreed operational plan.
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