Hamas has announced conditions for heavy weapons disarmament under a US-brokered ceasefire deal, stating it will only proceed once a Palestinian state is established, something the current Israeli government strongly opposes. The agreement, which President Donald Trump announced last October, requires Hamas to disarm and hand over authority to the Palestinian administration, while Israel would withdraw its military from the Gaza Strip and an international stabilisation force would be deployed. However, implementation faces obstacles, with Israel insisting everything depends on Hamas disarming first, while Hamas accuses Israel of violating the deal through continued attacks. Disarmament represents a major shift for Hamas, whose founding charter calls for armed struggle and which views weapons as central to its organisation. Israel, for its part, does not want to withdraw forces or make further compromises before elections in October, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tough re-election battle after being accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack. The deal stipulates that the disarmament process, collection of heavy weapons, dismantling of weapons production sites, and closure of tunnels will begin after a US-backed Palestinian technocratic committee arrives and international forces are deployed, linked to Israel's withdrawal from various areas. Currently, Israel controls about 60 percent of the Gaza Strip, most of which is heavily destroyed and virtually uninhabited, while around 2 million Palestinians mostly live in the remaining areas, with hundreds of thousands in tent camps. Israeli officials say there will be no withdrawal until armed groups disarm and Gaza is demilitarised. The handover of heavy weapons, including the dismantling of tunnels and other military infrastructure, will take place in a subsequent phase that could last 200 to 350 days.