A Palestinian militant group recently returned the remains of the last hostage from Gaza as part of a US-brokered peace deal
The US is considering granting amnesty to Hamas fighters in exchange for disarmament as part of a peace initiative brokered by Washington, a US official said, quoted by Reuters.
The news comes a day after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the body of the last hostage held by a Palestinian militant group, completing what was described as the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. Israeli policeman Ran Gvili was captured along with more than 200 hostages as a result of a Hamas attack on Israel more than two years ago.
“We think disarmament comes with some kind of amnesty, and we honestly think we have a very, very good disarmament program,” the official told the news agency on Monday, stressing that the deal would be broken if Hamas did not arm.
Under Trump’s original framework, signed in late 2025, the return of all hostages, living and dead, was supposed to mark the end of the first phase of the deal. The White House announced the deal was moving into a second phase, described as focusing on Gaza reconstruction and demilitarization, hours before Gvili’s remains were returned.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the next part of the deal is not about restoring territory, but about disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza. Hamas said its militants helped find Gvili’s body and described the act as “reaffirming our commitment to the ceasefire.”
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West Jerusalem has not yet commented on the latest remarks about granting amnesty to Hamas members if they give up their weapons.
During an attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, 251 hostages were taken and around 1,200 people were killed. Israel responded with a massive military campaign in Gaza that killed nearly 72,000 Palestinians and injured over 171,000, according to local health authorities.
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