US Team to Enter Gaza 'Soon' as Israeli Leaks Reveal Plan to Collect Hamas Weapons

The issue of disarming the Hamas movement is back in the spotlight with Israeli reports about an imminent US move to determine weapon handover locations.

According to Al-Ain News review of Hebrew media outlets including "Emes" and "Bhadrei Haridim," Israel has agreed to allow a US team to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days to designate sites for handing over Hamas weapons in preparation for their destruction.

This step is considered one of the main phases of US President Donald Trump's plan, which relies on Hamas relinquishing its arms and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.

According to "Bhadrei Haridim," an American company, acting on behalf of the "Peace Council" formed by Trump, is expected to enter southern Gaza in the coming days to identify two or three sites for the delivery and destruction of Hamas weapons.

Pilot Zone in the South

As mentioned by Israeli military journalist Itai Blumenthal on his account on the "X" platform (formerly Twitter), US teams are expected to operate in the first phase in the Rafah and Khan Younis areas in southern Gaza, which are under the operational control of the Israeli army.

Blumenthal noted that field surveys will later be conducted to identify locations ensuring safe access for Gaza militants to hand over their weapons, with some form of protection from the Israeli army.

A senior security official was quoted as saying that the American side is exerting significant pressure on Israel to proceed with this plan, despite Israeli pessimism regarding its chances of success.

What About Israeli Withdrawal?
According to the plan, which has not been officially announced to date, Israel will not begin its gradual withdrawal from the areas it has controlled until Hamas discards its weapons, and control will then be transferred to the technocratic government.

However, at this stage, the mechanism for handing over weapons has not yet been determined, and it remains unclear how Hamas members will be able to move throughout the Gaza Strip on their way to the sites under Israeli control.

The initiative is still in the preparatory and site-identification phase, as the weapon handover mechanism and accompanying security arrangements have not been finalized, nor has Hamas's consent to participate in the process been announced.

Hamas and Tel Aviv continue to exchange accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 in the devastated strip, following two years of war that began when the movement launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on the seventh of the same month in 2023.

The movement agreed in late July to a US roadmap aimed at launching the second phase of the peace plan, which stipulates its disarmament and Israel's gradual withdrawal from the strip, where it controls more than 60 percent of the land.

However, Israel did not agree to the plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands the complete disarmament of Hamas before any withdrawal from the strip.