Gaza ceasefire disarmament roadmap moves forward amid continued strikes

 

Gaza ceasefire disarmament roadmap moves forward amid continued strikes

A newly announced roadmap for the "next phase" of the Gaza ceasefire has become a major flashpoint this week, even as violence on the ground continues. Late last week, the US-led Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force for Gaza said mediators from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the US had finalized a plan under which Hamas and other armed groups would disarm in stages, paired with a phased Israeli troop withdrawal. President Trump announced the agreement, describing it as a milestone for ending the conflict, and Hamas has said it accepted the roadmap, though it has conditioned implementation on Israel actually withdrawing its forces as promised.

Israel has not formally endorsed the plan, and Palestinian officials say attacks have continued despite it: the ceasefire's first phase took effect back on October 10, 2025, but Palestinian officials say Israel has violated the agreement thousands of times since then, with strikes, arrests, and incursions killing more than 1,200 Palestinians and injuring over 4,000. In the days after the disarmament announcement, strikes in Gaza City killed several people, including a family of four in an apartment building and a child in a tent sheltering displaced residents, according to local medical sources. Middle East Monitor

Analysts and residents describe the broader ceasefire as fragile and only partially holding, with one framing capturing the situation as neither full-scale war nor genuine peace. Humanitarian conditions remain a central grievance, as Palestinians say continued Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries have undercut the truce's practical benefits even where fighting has eased. Egypt is expected to host follow-up talks involving US, Qatari, and Turkish representatives aimed at working out compliance mechanisms for this next phase, though key questions remain open — including whether smaller Palestinian armed factions beyond Hamas will actually disarm, and how quickly (or whether) Israeli forces will actually withdraw as the roadmap specifies.