How to Disarm Gaza: The Options On The Table
- Ofek Kehila
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
In the aftermath of the Gaza war and the return of the body of Ran Gvili, the final Israeli hostage in Gaza, US President Donald Trump focuses efforts on the next objective: disarming Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. Here are several options for disarming Hamas.
Why it matters
The Gaza war was one of the bloodiest conflicts between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas, beginning with a massacre of 1,200 in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Whereas Hamas has suffered many casualties, it remains the central armed force in Gaza.
So far, Hamas has refused to give up its power and weapons.
The Gaza Peace Plan can only be achieved through the disarmament of terrorist groups.
Private security contractors
One option is to enable private military contractors to operate in Gaza. Under the supervision of the Board of Peace, these forces could help clear areas of Hamas militants and infrastructure, loosening the organization’s grip over Gaza and its population.
Nevertheless, since Hamas is still armed and controlling many areas in Gaza, including a vast tunnel network, this task will not be an easy one. After two years of war, Hamas is weakened but still very powerful. According to ACLED, a non-profit organization that specializes in the real-time collection, analysis, and mapping of data on political violence and protest events around the world, Hamas still retains nearly half of its fighters and has been recruiting more.
UN peace forces
In theory, United Nations forces, too, could try disarm Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. However, whereas UN forces have been employed to maintain and enforce ceasefires around the globe, disarming and displacing Hamas could prove much more challenging, perhaps even impossible for a UN peace force.
Palestinian Authority
There are several problems with the idea of the Palestinian Authority’s forces tackling Hamas in Gaza. Apart from a lack of means and motivation, the PA was already pushed out of Gaza once before, and it is still very unpopular with the civilian population. PA even finds it hard to oust Hamas from the West Bank, so disarming Gaza seems completely out of its reach.
Read more: What Is The PA’s Pay to Slay Policy?
International Stabilization Force
The International Stabilization Force, comprised of multinational troops under US command, could be the key to disarming Gaza. Yet there are numerous problems involved in successfully deploying such a task force.
According to Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, the International Stabilization Force would face cultural challenges within the force itself and with the civilian population, as well as operational challenges related to the hostile environment.
Most importantly, many of the Arab and Muslim countries involved in the creation of the force stated they will join for peacekeeping purposes only. US officials have been clear about this: ISF would not fight Hamas.
Israel Defense Forces
In the absence of better options, it seems the Israel Defense Force is best equipped to disarm Gaza and dethrone Hamas. It has the capacity, experience, and motivation to do so. However, as a fragile ceasefire is still holding, nobody wants to see a renewal of the Gaza war, which would be the case if the IDF were to disarm Gaza.
The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza
In Davos, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, declared that the newly formed Gaza government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), will be the one responsible for demilitarizing Hamas. In other words, the task of disarming Gaza would be carried out by the Gazans themselves.
This option, too, is not without its challenges. On the one hand, Hamas is reluctant to give up power or arms. On the other hand, the new Gaza police force lacks training, experience, and perhaps even motivation to confront the battle-hardened militants of the terrorist organization.
Wrap up
While Hamas is rebuilding its force and restoring its tunnel network, the IDF is preparing for a renewed ground operation inside Hamas-held Gaza.
In addition, Hamas is looking to incorporate its police officials into the new Gaza administration, some 10,000 armed men whom Israel views as terrorists. If this occurs, it would be much more difficult to disarm Hamas and forge a path to a better future in Gaza.
The US-led Board of Peace would have to act fast and choose wisely if Gaza is to be effectively disarmed.
Ofek Kehila (Israel, 1987) is a scholar of Spanish Golden Age literature and Latin American literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. His research bridges the gap between those traditions, highlighting their aesthetic, cultural, and historical dialogue. He holds a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2022) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Freie Universität Berlin (2023-2025).