A senior US official said Monday that Washington believes Hamas’ disarmament in Gaza will be tied to “some sort of amnesty" for members of the terrorist organization, as part of ongoing efforts to advance President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity and quoted by Reuters, commented as Israel confirmed the identification of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas.
According to the official, US assessments indicate that Hamas may comply with demands that it diasrm.
“We are listening to many of their people talk about disarming. We think they're going to. If they don't disarm, then they've breached the deal. We think disarmament comes along with some sort of amnesty and candidly we think we have a very, very good program to disarm," the official said, according to Reuters.
The official also said that Hamas had helped in recovering Gvili’s body, saying, “The Qataris and the Turks were very helpful in getting Hamas to cooperate. I will say Hamas was very cooperative as they fulfilled the obligation that they signed up for."
The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond when asked whether Israel would agree to amnesty for Hamas members who surrender their weapons.
Under President Trump’s 20‑point Gaza plan, once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence and decommission their weapons will receive amnesty. Those who choose to leave Gaza will be granted safe passage to receiving countries.
Trump has repeatedly warned Hamas that there would be consequences if it does not disarm in accordance with his plan.
Last month, speaking at a press conference following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said, "If they don't disarm - as they agreed to do, they agreed to it - then there will be hell to pay for them, and we don't want that. We're not looking for that."
"It'll be horrible for them - horrible, really, really bad for them [if they don't disarm]. I don't want that to happen, but they made an agreement that they're going to disarm," added Trump.
As part of the implementation of Trump’s plan, the Rafah crossing is expected to open soon for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip.
IDF Radio (Galei Tzahal) reported on Monday that Hamas terrorists, including lower-ranking members and their relatives, are expected to be granted permission to leave Gaza for Egypt without undergoing Israeli security checks.
At the exit stage from Gaza, identification and checks will be conducted by a European Union delegation, with the assistance of Palestinian Authority personnel pre-approved by the Israeli security system.
The exit documents will bear the stamp of the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli oversight of the process will be conducted remotely, with no Israeli personnel physically present at the crossing.