Donald Trump claimed on Friday that a deal had been reached for Hamas to disarm and withdraw its forces from Gaza, though major hurdles and conditions remained in the Palestinian territory. The announcement came as fighting involving Iran, the US and regional allies showed signs of widening, with Iran’s army saying it had launched drone strikes at a US military facility in Kuwait.
The US president said on social media that “the agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases.” He added: “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 their neighbors.”
Senior officials have reportedly agreed to the plan, but the timing of Hamas disarmament remains a point of contention. Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas negotiating team, said: “We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip.”
An Israeli official told the news agency that the proposed terms were not satisfactory.
“Israel demands the complete disarmament of , including the removal of weapons from Gaza and the complete demilitarisation of the Strip as a precondition for any process,”
The official added that the plan under discussion did not “provide a satisfactory response to these demands and Israel conveyed its objections”.
The announcement came 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 escalating US-Israeli war on Iran, Iranian forces on Friday launched drone strikes at US military facilities at the Ahmad Al Jaber airbase in Kuwait. Iranian state media said the strikes were in response to recent US attacks on Iran, including a strike on a home in Qeshm.
Saudi Arabia is also preparing for a 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.
Traffic data showed that 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.
Analysts expect major oil companies to report large profits while fighting between Iran and the US has impeded petroleum shipments. Six of Europe’s largest oil companies posted first-quarter profits of $22bn altogether, 43% higher than the same time last year, according to Global Witness.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia said it had set up a maritime defence alliance of 14 regional countries to secure navigation around the Bab al-Mandab strait.
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. That came hours after Jordan’s air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran.
Egypt’s government said on Thursday that authorities were analysing drone fragments from an unprecedented strike on one of its ports, after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned of regional escalation. The government had earlier confirmed that a fire on two gas vessels in the Damietta port – one of which was US-owned – was the result of a drone strike, the first to target the country since the outbreak of the Middle East war.
issued news alerts after speaking to a official about the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, including disarmament.
The news agency reported the official saying Israel must withdraw its forces from Gaza, and that if it does not approve the accord then Hamas will not implement it. Hamas has yet to publicly say anything about the deal.
We will bring you more as we get it.
How have international figures reacted to the reported Hamas disarmament plan?
Louise Haigh, who runs the new office of the prime minister in the UK, said any progress in peace negotiations is “extremely welcome” while the government waits for Israel’s response.
“It’s extremely welcome news if there has been any progress in the peace negotiations and any step forward to disarming ,” 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.”
What is happening in southern Lebanon?
Local media in Lebanon 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 IDF said: “The existence of the infrastructure posed a threat to the residents of the north [of Israel] and to our forces.”
It also 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.”
What did Iran say about its strike in Kuwait?
Iran’s military said it launched drone strikes targeting US military facilities in Kuwait on Friday, as fighting between Washington and Tehran resumed after a nearly week-long lull.
The army said it targeted “fighter aircraft shelters, satellite communications systems and equipment storage facilities at Ahmad al-Jaber air base in Kuwait”.
There was no immediate comment from the US military’s Central Command.
The Iranian army said in a statement the strikes came in response to US military’s recent aggression and “brutal attack” on a residential home on Qeshm Island, Agence France-Presse reports.
Local media reported on Thursday that three members of a family were killed in US strikes on the island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military earlier said it had carried out a against Iran.
Qeshm Island is a storage site for Iranian attack craft, drones, sea mines and other materials used to disrupt shipping through the Hormuz strait and has come under frequent American attack.
Why is Saudi Arabia involved in regional maritime security?
Saudi Arabia is preparing for a 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.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia said it had set up a maritime defence alliance of 14 regional countries to secure navigation around the Bab al-Mandab strait.
How are shipping routes and oil markets being affected?
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.
Analysts are expecting major oil companies to report large profits while fighting between Iran and the US has 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.
What else has been reported across the region?
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.
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.
We will bring you more as we get it.
Key Facts:
- Trump said a deal had been reached for Hamas to disarm and withdraw from Gaza, but hurdles remained.
- Ghazi Hamad said Hamas would not act on disarmament before Israel withdrew from the Strip.
- Iran said it struck US military facilities at Ahmad Al Jaber airbase in Kuwait in response to recent US attacks.
- Lebanese media reported “massive explosions” in southern Lebanon near Beaufort Castle after Israeli strikes on Hezbollah tunnel infrastructure.
- Saudi Arabia said it had formed a maritime defence alliance of 14 regional countries to secure navigation around Bab al-Mandab.
