Posted July 31, 2026
President Trump announced Thursday evening on Truth Social that “the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza.” He explained:
The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases. 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 its neighbors.
The Wall Street Journal adds that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have agreed to the plan, according to US officials. According to CBS News, “If the agreement sticks, it would be the first time Hamas or any other militant group in Gaza has agreed to disarm.”
However, Hamas is stating today that Israel must first end all attacks in Gaza, withdraw its forces, and increase Gaza aid flows. By contrast, an Israeli official said this morning that “there will be no withdrawal whatsoever of the IDF from the current Yellow Line unless Hamas undergoes a genuine disarmament.”
What exactly is this plan?
How likely is it to succeed?
How should you and I respond today?
In an interview with the Journal, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s negotiating team, said the group has agreed to place its weapons in a storage facility overseen by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. This is a Palestinian-run technocratic group that has been charged with Gaza’s political and security transition.
An official with the Board of Peace said the process would require independent verification of each stage before moving on to the next. The official said these phases include agreeing to the framework, the relinquishment of any government involvement, transferring weapons from the Gaza police force to another security entity, decommissioning heavy weapons and weapons depots, disarming individuals, and identifying and destroying tunnels.
A draft of the agreement states that Hamas is expected to hand over maps of its tunnels, weapons factories, and depots. There are also provisions for the handover of civilian authorities from Hamas to the national committee.
Hamas has been holding meetings since Tuesday with mediators in Egypt and representatives from the Board of Peace. Since Wednesday, an Israeli team has been present in the country to discuss the second phase of the agreement with Egyptian mediators.
According to the Journal, this is “only the first step in a pathway laden with political and military traps.” In fact, at this writing, it seems that a standoff may be emerging: Hamas will disarm if Israel retreats, but Israel will retreat only after Hamas disarms.
The announcement comes at a time when conflict is escalating across the Middle East. Exchanges of fire between the US and Iran in recent weeks led to the collapse of an interim agreement aimed at winding down the war.
Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia and threaten shipping through another major trade route leading through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea and up to Egypt’s Suez Canal. The Houthis also claim to have attacked Saudi oil infrastructure near a pipeline the kingdom has been using to ship oil since the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed.
Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia accused Iran-backed militias in Iraq of launching drone attacks on its oil facilities. In response, Saudi and US fighter aircraft bombed militia sites in Iraq, killing at least twenty fighters and six Iranian advisers.
On Wednesday, a drone attack on Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta set two natural gas vessels on fire, including a US-owned floating storage facility. The Houthis have denied responsibility, and no one else has claimed the attack. Egypt, a close US ally and regional mediator, had been one of the few countries in the Middle East to have avoided military engagement in the war.
The common denominator in this escalating aggression is Iran, whose leaders are continuing to use proxies to project power across the region as part of their conflict with the West that began with the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
If you’re like most Americans, you want peace yesterday and an end to America’s military involvement in the region. You don’t trust the Iranians or their proxies to do what they say they will do. You hope the announcement of a path to peace in Gaza becomes a reality, but you’re skeptical.
And for good reason. Unlike Russia, China, North Korea, and other nations with whom the West is in opposition, Iran is a theocracy. Its leaders are committed to a theological metanarrative that requires them to eradicate Israel and oppose the West as they advance their militant version of Islam.
So, we should greet any progress toward peace in the region with gratitude while remaining vigilant in the knowledge that Iran and its proxies are still at enmity with us. As President Reagan often said regarding nuclear disarmament discussions with the Soviet Union, we should “trust, but verify.”
But Christians can do more. We can pray for wisdom for our leaders and negotiators, asking God to give them insight beyond themselves and direction that leads to a just peace (1 Timothy 2:1–2). We can pray for protection for our soldiers and all in harm’s way as this conflict continues (cf. Isaiah 54:17).
We can pray for a spiritual awakening in Iran and across the Middle East that is the only hope for true and lasting peace (cf. Matthew 5:44). And we can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we pray (Romans 8:26).
If we’re skeptical that such intercession is relevant, we can claim the promise of Scripture: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16 NIV). As Charles Spurgeon declared, “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world.”
It has been said that “prayer is our partnership with God in transforming history.” Let us be faithful to our role in this partnership today, to the glory of God.
The post The latest on a peace agreement in Gaza appeared first on Denison Forum.
