Hamas will give up thousands of automatic rifles and other small weapons belonging to their Gaza police force and other internal security services, according to a Sunday report by The New York Times, citing two officials from the terror organization.
Both of the officials are based in Gaza and spoke under the condition of anonymity, with the report noting that the proposal would not include the full disarmament of Hamas's small weapons, as it will retain weapons in its so-called military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades.
The terrorist officials also said that they have already met with the other security agencies in Gaza that operate besides Hamas's police, saying that they laid the groundwork to transfer the government of Gaza to the Board of Peace and its technocratic committee.
The report also mentioned that Palestinians inside Gaza fear that the terrorist group's refusal to give up on its military wing could ignite a new round of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
"We, the innocent people in Gaza, want an end to this situation,” Saed Abu Aita, a 45-year-old Gaza resident whose two daughters were killed in an Israeli airstrike early in the war, told The New York Times.
“We want Hamas to give up their weapons and the Israelis to withdraw,” he added.
IDF expects Hamas to start disarmament soon
The IDF said on Friday that it expected Hamas to start disarming soon, with the military showing growing confidence that Hamas, overall, is leaning toward taking “painful” steps to avoid Israel re-invading the Gaza Strip.
The IDF was extremely vague about what such disarmament could look like.
The US also expects Hamas to begin handing over its heavy weapons, namely its remaining rockets, drones, and anti-tank missiles, along with maps of its remaining terror tunnels, during early May.
Prior to the IDF’s statement, there had been significant media speculation that Hamas might take advantage of the fact that Israel and the US would be distracted by the war with Iran and thus attempt to drag out the deadline for entering the first disarmament stage.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.