Security Council: contacts on Gaza resumed amid conflict with Iran
The Hamas delegation resumed negotiations with Egyptian security officials and international mediators on the future governance of the Gaza Strip. As Izvestia found out, the main subject of the dispute remains disarmament: they are discussing the withdrawal of heavy equipment, the elimination of military infrastructure and the transfer of light weapons under the control of the Palestinian police. Consultations in Cairo are taking place in the context of the armed conflict in Iran. The Jewish state is shelling targets in the republic, and high-ranking military and politicians have died as a result of the attacks. The site of the Bushehr NPP under construction by Rosatom was also hit.
Hamas is in contact with representatives of the "Peace Council"
Hamas representatives returned to negotiations with Egyptian security officials and international mediators, including Nikolai Mladenov, the high representative of the Gaza Peace Council. During the consultations, Israeli violations of the truce agreements, the work of the Rafah checkpoint, the integration of Hamas employees into the police, and the work of the Gaza governance committee were discussed. According to media reports, the issue of disarmament remains postponed until the deployment of the Palestinian police and international stabilization forces.
In general, this topic is a stumbling block in the negotiations, Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Izvestia.
— The Hamas movement actually agreed to the plan in full, including through contacts with American representatives. At the same time, the point about disarmament remains the most controversial. Three aspects are currently being discussed: the collection of heavy weapons, the elimination of military infrastructure (including tunnels and production facilities) and the transfer of light weapons under the control of the police, which should become part of the Palestinian forces," Ahmed Majdalani said.
He stressed that Israel uses the issue of armaments to pressure and delay the settlement process. According to him, the ceasefire remains in place, but a full-fledged resolution of the conflict has been postponed for the time being, and the positions of the parties remain extremely tough.
At the same time, the escalation in the region continues: Israel is involved in military operations against Iran. At the same time, Hamas is trying to use the negotiations in Cairo to overcome the stagnation in the implementation of the second phase of the agreement, announced in January, and to stabilize the situation in the exclave, including to deal with humanitarian issues.
The discussion on the disarmament of Hamas is unfolding in the context of the promotion of the American plan for a post-war settlement in Gaza. On January 14, US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of the second phase of Washington's initiative, which provides for the creation of a transitional Palestinian authority, the disarmament of Hamas and the transition to the reconstruction of the strip. The plan excludes any direct or indirect involvement of the movement in the future governance of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that the key task remains the dismantling of Hamas' military and political structures and the demilitarization of Gaza. According to him, this goal can be achieved both by political and military means. US President Donald Trump has publicly expressed a similar position. During the meeting of the Peace Council, Netanyahu stated the need for the complete disarmament of Hamas before any work on the reconstruction of the sector began.
An important element of the implementation of the US Gas plan will be the deployment of an international contingent. At the end of March, representatives of countries ready to send their soldiers to Gaza will arrive at the site to assess the situation on the ground. In April, the training of the main part of the contingent in Jordan will begin. If everything goes according to plan, the forces will start working in the sector on May 1.
We are talking about about 5,000 Indonesian troops, who will be joined by dozens of fighters from Kazakhstan, Morocco, Albania and Kosovo. Initially, they will be deployed in the area of the new Palestinian city being built by the UAE in the Rafah area, as well as in other areas of Gaza under the control of the IDF.
The impact of the conflict over Iran on Gaza
The negotiation process is also complicated by the escalation around Iran. Hamas, which expressed full solidarity with the Islamic Republic at the initial stage of the conflict, then adjusted its position under pressure from Qatar. Although the Palestinian movement recognized Iran's right to defend itself, it called on Tehran not to cause damage to neighboring Persian Gulf countries in order not to complicate the regional situation.
Roman Yanushevsky, editor-in-chief of the website of the 9th Israeli TV channel, reminded Izvestia that Qatar took over the leadership of the group in 2012 after it was expelled from Syria by President Bashar al-Assad. At that time, a civil war broke out in the SAR, and Hamas showed obvious ingratitude to the host side by supporting the rebels, which displeased Assad. A number of the movement's leaders, who had lived in Damascus since the late 1990s, were forced to look for a new home, and Qatar provided it.
Yanushevsky believes that after the liquidation of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Aruri, and the expansion of the IDF operation, Lebanon is no longer suitable for hosting the leadership of the movement. Given the high financial demands of the leaders, a move to Yemen or Sudan is unlikely, so Turkey remains the most likely option if Qatar insists on expelling Hamas representatives.
Negotiations may face serious problems and stall due to the escalation around Iran. This increases uncertainty for Gaza, including the timing of the arrival of the international contingent and the deployment of stabilization forces.
Since February 2026, the United States and Israel have been conducting military operations against Iran, which have killed key leaders of the country, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded with strikes against Israel and US targets in the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 7 that attacks against Iran would not be curtailed, and the operation would continue "with unrelenting momentum." The Israeli Air Force is targeting Iranian facilities, including ballistic missile factories, IRGC bases and command posts, in order to create "optimal conditions" for regime change from within.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the death of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani. According to Donald Trump, it happened on March 16. On the same day, the Israeli Air Force also attacked the center of Tehran, killing the commander of the Basij volunteer forces, Gholamreza Soleimani. On the night of March 18, according to the Israeli Defense Minister, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed.
An important signal of the escalation was the attacks on the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. According to the press service of the Atomic Energy Organization of the Republic, on March 17, a shell fired during the operations of the United States or Israel hit the territory of the NPP industrial site near the operating power unit. Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said that material damage and casualties were avoided, but this is the first recorded strike on a nuclear power plant since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, which further increases the risks for the region.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
