Disarmament comes with some sort of amnesty for Hamas, US official says

WASHINGTON — The United States believes disarmament by Hamas in Gaza will be accompanied by “some sort of amnesty” for the Palestinian group, a US official has said.The US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity on Monday, made the comment after the body of the last Israeli captive in Gaza was recovered, a move that paves the way toward the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal agreed upon in October.Israel and the United States are pressuring Hamas to disarm as part of a plan in which Gaza will be redeveloped.Under President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries, under the plan.The Israeli military said on Monday that the remains of the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, police officer Ran Gvili who was held hostage for more than 840 days — have been identified and will be released for burial.”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.Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Monday with a Hamas delegation from the in Istanbul.The meeting addressed developments related to the second phase of the Gaza peace plan, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and other regional issues.Fidan briefed the delegation on Turkey’s diplomatic efforts on various platforms, particularly the “Board of Peace,” aimed at defending the rights of the people of Gaza.He also stated that Ankara’s efforts to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza would continue with determination.The current second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, includes provisions calling for the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, an additional Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave, and the launch of reconstruction efforts. — Agencies