Nadene Goldfoot
IDF walking through one of many tunnels of Hamas: Hamas leaders have reportedly approached senior officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA) with a request to store their weapons instead of destroying them. The PA doesn't seem eager to help Hamas. In any case, it doesn't look like Hamas is planning to disarm. How will that effect President Trumps 20 point peace agreement and the ceasefire?
In his peace plan, titled "Peace to Prosperity", Donald Trump stated that Hamas must completely disarm and that all of its military infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, must be destroyed. The plan specifically calls for: 
IDF on the job; November 7th
- Complete Disarmament: The plan explicitly requires Hamas and other factions to "decommission their weapons" and agree not to have any future military, terror, or offensive infrastructure.
- Destruction of Infrastructure: All existing military and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, must be destroyed and not rebuilt.
- Internationally Supervised Process: The plan outlines a process of demilitarization for Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors. This includes a system to place weapons permanently beyond use and an internationally funded buyback and reintegration program for weapons, all to be verified by these monitors.Hamas on January 30, 2025
- No Role in Governance: Under the plan, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence and decommissioning their weapons would be offered amnesty, and those who wish to leave Gaza would be provided safe passage. Hamas would have no direct or indirect role in the governance of a future Gaza.
- Firm Stance: Trump repeatedly emphasized this point publicly, stating that Hamas "is going to disarm" and that "if they don't disarm, we will disarm them," warning of swift and potentially violent action if they refused. Hamas with weapons in Tunnel : Hamas fighters or supporters seen wearing red headbands or armbands, instead of the usual green, are typically associated with other Palestinian militant factions that use red as their primary color, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The specific color often indicates affiliation with a different group or a specific unit within the broader Palestinian resistance movement.
Hamas has largely rejected the disarmament clause, though it has indicated a willingness to hand over heavy weapons while keeping small arms for "self-defense," which Israel has rejected. Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan: AJC Expert Analysis . .Oct 10, 2025 —
How did Hamas get their weapons in the first place?
Hamas acquires its weapons through a combination of local manufacturing within Gaza and the smuggling of arms and components from foreign sources, primarily Iran.
Local Production
A significant portion of Hamas's arsenal, including rockets, mortars, and small arms, is manufactured domestically in underground workshops within Gaza. This "military industrial complex" relies on several ingenious methods:
- Salvaged materials: Raw materials are often repurposed from the ruins of buildings destroyed in previous conflicts, such as metal pipes and concrete.
- Repurposed Israeli ordnance: A key source of explosives is unexploded ordnance (bombs and artillery shells) dropped by the Israeli military during strikes. Hamas engineering teams collect these duds, extract the explosives, and reuse the material in their own weapons.
- Dual-use goods: Materials intended for civilian use or humanitarian aid, such as fertilizers (for explosives) and certain electronics or machine tools, are diverted for weapons production.
- Foreign expertise: Iran has provided Hamas with the technical expertise, designs, and training needed to manufacture more sophisticated weaponry locally, including longer-range rockets and anti-tank systems.
Smuggling
Hamas relies on smuggling for complete weapons systems and specialized components it cannot produce itself.
- Tunnels: An extensive network of underground tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border has historically been the primary route for smuggling weapons, cash, and other goods. While Egypt and Israel have made efforts to destroy these tunnels, some routes have remained operational.
- Maritime routes: Weapons and components are also smuggled by sea, dropped off in waterproof capsules miles off the coast of Gaza and retrieved by divers.
- Black market and intermediaries: Weapons from countries like Russia, China, North Korea, and others are acquired through the global black market and reach Gaza via intermediary countries and arms dealers, sometimes originating from conflict zones like Libya or Afghanistan.
- From Israeli sources: Some weapons, including ammunition and grenades, have reportedly been stolen from poorly guarded Israeli military bases and smuggled into Gaza via the Sinai.
Overall, Hamas employs a resourceful and diverse strategy, combining external support and smuggling with an indigenous manufacturing capability to sustain its armed operations despite the ongoing blockade of Gaza. 
What can Israel do about it?
- Resumption of Hostilities: The most immediate and serious consequence is typically the breakdown of the ceasefire or peace process and a return to conflict or war. The party that was reneged upon may use the breach as a justification for resuming military action.
- Loss of Trust and Credibility: The reneging party suffers severe damage to its international reputation and credibility. This makes future negotiations and agreements with other nations or entities extremely difficult, as they will view the party as unreliable.
- Update: 11/19/25 shooting at Israelis again today, IDF shot back. Terror operatives opened fire on troops earlier in the day in the enclave’s southern Khan Younis area. The Israel Defense Forces said the shooting was a violation of the nearly six-week-old ceasefire in the Strip.
Resource:
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