Hamas says it has agreed to disarm after Donald Trump announced that the Board of Peace had reached a “historic” agreement, a senior Hamas official told the BBC on Friday.
Under the proposed phased deal, Hamas would disarm, Israeli forces would withdraw as the disarmament progresses, and an international stabilisation force would work with a new Palestinian police force until a new Palestinian government takes over governance in Gaza.
Trump thanked Egypt, Qatar and Turkey for mediating the agreement.
However, a senior Hamas negotiator said the group’s disarmament is conditional on Israel fulfilling its commitments under the agreement, including withdrawing from Gaza and allowing the establishment of a national committee and reconstruction efforts.
Ghazi Hamad said: “The agreement contains a clear provision stating that Israel must commit to and implement its obligations. If Israel does not implement the agreement, neither will we.”
In other Middle East news, Tehran warned the US it will “pay the price” following reports that a family of three, including a couple and a two-year-old child, were killed in a strike on Qeshm Island.
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Key Points
- Hamas says disarmament depends on Israeli withdrawal
- Board of Peace says focus now shifts to implementation
- Trump hails ‘major milestone’
- Board of Peace says focus now shifts to implementation
Hamas confirms it has agreed disarm, official tells BBC
07:22 , Maira ButtA senior Hamas official has told the BBC that the group has in fact agreed to disarm.
The parties in the Israel-Hamas war have agreed to a “historic” framework paving the way to rebuild Gaza and remake its government, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.
Trump claims Board of Peace has reached ‘historic’ Gaza deal to disarm Hamas and withdraw Israeli troops
07:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe parties in the Israel-Hamas war have agreed to a “historic” framework paving the way to rebuild Gaza and remake its government, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.
The deal includes the “COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Hamas communicated via mediators that it has agreed to the terms of the multi-step road map, U.S. and Board of Peace officials told The Independent.
Read more here:
Trump claims ‘historic’ Gaza deal to disarm Hamas and withdraw Israeli troops
Iran says it launches drone strikes on US military facilities in Kuwait
06:55 , Maroosha MuzaffarIran says it has launched drone strikes targeting US military facilities at Kuwait's Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base in retaliation for recent American attacks, including a strike on a residential home on Qeshm Island.
According to Iranian state media, the operation targeted aircraft hangars, satellite communications systems and equipment warehouses. There has been no immediate confirmation from US or Kuwaiti authorities on the reported attack.
Drone strike at Egypt's Damietta port raises fresh concerns over Suez shipping
06:33 , Maroosha MuzaffarA drone strike that set two gas vessels on fire at Egypt's Damietta port has heightened concerns over the security of shipping through the nearby Suez Canal, a key route for global trade and Saudi oil exports.
Egyptian authorities said an unidentified drone caused the attack, while Iran denied any involvement.
The incident comes as tensions in the region continue to escalate, prompting London's marine insurance market to expand its "high risk" zone in the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia to propose a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping routes.
Meanwhile, Iraq said it had no prior knowledge of recent US-Saudi strikes on its territory, amid fears the conflict could draw more countries into the war.
Iran says it targeted US airbase in Kuwait with drone strike
06:06 , Maroosha MuzaffarIran's army says it carried out a drone strike targeting US military facilities at Kuwait's Ahmed Al-Jaber Air Base in retaliation for recent American strikes.
In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, the military said the attack targeted aircraft hangars, satellite communications systems and equipment warehouses using drones.
Iran said the operation was in response to a US strike on a residential home on Qeshm Island, adding that the airbase serves as a key hub for US aerial surveillance and operational support in the region.
Trump hails ‘major milestone’
05:45 , Maroosha MuzaffarDonald Trump described the agreement as "a major milestone" in the implementation of his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, saying it would be carried out in carefully structured phases.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people. At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.
“As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”
Trump also added: “The threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild!“Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE.”
Agreement reached after 'months of very difficult negotiations', says Board of Peace official
05:32 , Maroosha MuzaffarNickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's director-general and high representative for Gaza, said the agreement followed months of difficult negotiations and stressed that its success would depend on implementation.
In a post on X, he wrote: "Today, agreement has been reached on the decommissioning of weapons and civilian transition in Gaza. It took months of very difficult negotiations to get here."
"There were several points when I did not believe we would make it..." he added.
Mladenov said the next stage would be crucial, writing: "What the agreement says matters. What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real. Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning."
He also said the agreement could pave the way for a rebuilt Gaza governed by Palestinians and a broader political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding: "Ahead of us is a Gaza rebuilt, governed by Palestinians and at peace with Israel an a political horizon to a meaningful resolution the Israeli Palestinian conflict. That is the work now."
Board of Peace says focus now shifts to implementation
05:13 , Maroosha MuzaffarDonald Trump's Board of Peace has described the proposed Gaza agreement as a "historic breakthrough" and said its attention is now turning to implementation.
In a statement, the board said Hamas had committed "for the first time" to an actionable plan to relinquish its weapons, to be followed by an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
"It holds the promise of delivering significant benefits to the people of Gaza, who have waited for too long for a better future, and security to the people of Israel," it said, according to the Guardian.
Hamas says disarmament depends on Israeli withdrawal
05:12 , Maroosha MuzaffarA senior Hamas negotiator has said the group's agreement to disarm is conditional on Israel fulfilling its commitments under the proposed deal.
Ghazi Hamad said in a statement carried by the Guardian that the framework links Hamas's weapons to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of a national committee to administer the territory and reconstruction efforts.
"If Israel does not implement the agreement, neither will we," Hamad said, adding that Hamas would discuss implementation details with mediators before agreeing on a timetable.
US-brokered plan for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon suffers slow start
05:02 , Alex CroftA US-brokered plan for Israel to withdraw gradually from occupied areas of southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has started slower than expected.
The "pilot zone program" is the centrepiece of the US’ June 26 framework deal intended to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and establish peaceful ties between Israel and Lebanon.
Hezbollah still refuses to give up its weapons, while on the ground, the rollout of the first zone in the south Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh last week offered a glimpse of a strained and complex process that will be no easier to repeat elsewhere.
A senior Lebanese military official, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, told the Reuters news agency it had taken weeks of US-brokered negotiations with Israel and days of military operations to establish the first zone in a single village.
The agreement links Israel's progressive withdrawal to the "verified disarmament" of Hezbollah — which is not a party to the deal, has refused to give up its arsenal, and has raised the prospect of internal strife if the state tries to disarm it by force.
US military says 24 ships redirected during blockade
04:02 , Rachel DobkinUS Central Command has said 24 ships have been redirected, two disabled and two boarded during its blockade of Iranian ports.
A U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon approaches a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker for refueling while patrolling the Middle East. The P-8 is a specialized reconnaissance aircraft that is among the many assets monitoring regional waters during America's blockade against Iran. As of July… pic.twitter.com/5LJGLApwWR
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 30, 2026
Watch: Netanyahu denies persuading Trump on Iran war, asserts 'it's his decision'
03:00 , Alex CroftIranian official responds to Qeshm Island attack: 'Pains the heart'
02:04 , Rachel DobkinEsmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, has said the attack on Qeshm Island “pains the heart of every conscientious human being”.
Iran has blamed the U.S. for an attack on a residential building that reportedly killed a couple and a two-year-old child.
“The criminal attack last night on the homes of the noblest Iranians in Qeshm, which resulted in the destruction of several houses and the martyrdom of a hardworking taxi driver, Qeysar Jafari, his wife Zahra Jafari, and their innocent two-year-old child, Sina, pains the heart of every conscientious human being”, Baqaei wrote on X.
“With every explosion, with every crime, with every sanction, with every threat, with the killing of every child, you only make Iranians more determined and united in defending their homeland”, the spokesperson added.
In pictures: Smoke rises after multiple US strikes
01:01 , Maira ButtSmoke rises after reports of multiple US strikes on the city, as loud explosions were heard according to the Iranian state TV, in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran, July 30, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.
Iran's Araghchi presses European counterparts over use of bases in US operations
Friday 31 July 2026 00:00 , Alex CroftIran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of U.S. military aircraft at the Bezmer air base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.
During a phone call with his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi said Sofia's approval of a U.S. request to station military aircraft at the base to support military operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.
Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to be used for U.S. military operations against it that they could "face consequences".
Araghchi held a separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing foreign military bases in Cyprus from being used against Iran.
In focus: How the wars in Iran and Ukraine are colliding on the world’s largest lake
Thursday 30 July 2026 23:00 , Maira ButtFears have mounted over the world’s two major wars converging after Ukraine attacked an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, with Tehran vowing to respond.
Iran claimed one sailor was killed and another injured in the Ukrainian attack, as the ministry summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest against what it described as a “hostile and criminal” act.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday the reported strike on a commercial vessel “cannot go unanswered” in a call with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
How the wars in Iran and Ukraine are colliding on the world’s largest lake
US issues Iran-related sanctions against Iranian air carrier
Thursday 30 July 2026 22:01 , Alex CroftThe US on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions that target global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier Washington says transports Iran's Revolutionary Guards personnel, as well as weapons and drones.
The US Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran for acting as sales agents and support networks for the US- and EU-sanctioned airline, the department said in a statement.
The four Iranian nuclear plants in Trump’s sights after president’s threat to hit Pickaxe Mountain
Thursday 30 July 2026 21:00 , Maira ButtWith the US-Iran ceasefire in tatters, Donald Trump has issued new threats against Tehran’s nuclear facilities in what would represent a significant escalation in the conflict.
The president’s latest target is Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” a suspected underground facility that lies on the south side of Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site, one of those bombed by the US and Israel in June 2025.
Named Operation Midnight Hammer, the countries launched a series of attacks on several nuclear and military facilities more than one year ago. as part of a long-running ambition to thwart Tehran’s nuclear weapons programme.
The Iranian nuclear plants in Trump’s sights after threat to Pickaxe Mountain
Watch: American forces resume strikes after attempted Iranian attacks
Thursday 30 July 2026 20:30 , Maira ButtUS denies its aircraft were struck in Iranian attacks
Thursday 30 July 2026 20:02 , Alex CroftThe US military said on Thursday that no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks, denying a claim it said was made by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that three US F-35 jets and three other aircraft were destroyed.
In a statement, US Central Command also said the commercial vessel M/T Nora had not broken through America's blockade of Iranian ports, denying a claim it said was made on Iranian state media.
‘Exasperated’ Trump battles with White House officials ‘over Iran strategy’
Thursday 30 July 2026 19:30 , Maira ButtPresident Donald Trump is “exasperated” by the lack of progress in ending the Iran conflict and the lack of consensus on strategy among his top military advisers, according to a report.
An unnamed ally of the president has told NBC News: “The president is exasperated. I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal.
“There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint… He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war.”
‘Exasperated’ Trump battles with White House officials ‘over Iran strategy’
Beyond the Strait of Hormuz: How Gulf countries are preparing for life without the waterway
Thursday 30 July 2026 19:00 , Maira ButtPort operator DP World is in talks to develop new facilities in the coastal area of Fujairah to take pressure off its flagship Jebel Ali port, according to the Financial Times.
Jebel Ali, built in 1977, has made the UAE a hub of finance and trade, but weeks ago it was set alight by a piece of fallen debris from an Iranian missile. Since then, Dubai International Airport, US military bases and other facilities have come under direct attack.
How Gulf countries are preparing for life without the Strait of Hormuz
Watch: Netanyahu denies persuading Trump on Iran war, asserts 'it's his decision'
Thursday 30 July 2026 18:30 , Maira ButtMapped: All of the countries dragged into Trump’s war in Iran
Thursday 30 July 2026 18:00 , Maira ButtWar has spread across the Middle East, threatening to become a regional conflict as fighting between the US and Iran enters its sixth month.
Ever since US-Israeli strikes took out supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February, several countries have been affected by Iranian retaliatory strikes across the Gulf. Meanwhile, a US and Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has led to disruptions in supply chains that have impacted the global economy.
After an intense period of fighting in March and April, the war entered a stalemate with a tenuous ceasefire agreed that collapsed earlier this month following disagreement over the Strait of Hormuz.
Mapped: All of the countries dragged into Trump’s war in Iran
Kuwait's chief of staff meets defence coalition in Saudi Arabia
Thursday 30 July 2026 17:30 , Maira ButtKuwait’s chief of staff is meeting with a defence coalition for preserving freedom of navigation in the Bab El-Mandeb strait, according to the state news agency.
The Houthis have in recent days threatened to block the vital shipping route, which would cripple the region already deeply disrupted by blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen's Houthis are attacking Saudi Arabia from Iraq, sources say
Thursday 30 July 2026 17:00 , Maira ButtYemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia this week from Iraqi territory in coordination with Iraqi armed groups, according to assessments by Saudi Arabia and regional partners, reflecting growing coordination among Iran-aligned militias, two officials in the region told Reuters.
The assessments, which differ from official accounts, indicate that members of Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance have deepened their ties and ability to inflict damage to US allies in the region despite years of US and Israeli strikes on them from Lebanon to Iran after Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel.
The attacks included strikes on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia's eastern province, the kingdom's main crude hub.
Strait of Hormuz shipping hits ‘crisis-era lows’ as conflict risks spreading
Thursday 30 July 2026 16:30 , Maira ButtShipping through the Strait of Hormuz has hit “crisis-era lows”, a UK-based maritime data firm has reported as a brief pause in fighting was shattered by fresh clashes in the Middle East.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence said amid the worsening security situation “a near-term recovery in traffic” through the strategic waterway was unlikely.
The disruption to trade through the Gulf channel, which is a vital oil and gas supply route, has driven up fuel and food prices.
Strait of Hormuz shipping hits ‘crisis-era lows’ as conflict risks spreading
Watch: Trump says he'd be 'disappointed' if China armed Iran
Thursday 30 July 2026 16:00 , Maira ButtIran's Araghchi presses European counterparts over use of bases in US operations
Thursday 30 July 2026 15:31 , Maira ButtIran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of U.S. military aircraft at the Bezmer air base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.
During a phone call with his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi said Sofia's approval of a U.S. request to station military aircraft at the base to support military operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.
Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to be used for U.S. military operations against it that they could "face consequences".
Araghchi held a separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing foreign military bases in Cyprus from being used against Iran.
Trump’s general plots two weeks of strikes in major escalation of war effort
Thursday 30 July 2026 15:05 , Maira ButtPresident Donald Trump’s top general is preparing for 14 days of strikes on Iran, according to new reports.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, is designing a devastating air campaign, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
The thinking behind the escalation is to force Tehran to comply with its demands in the Strait of Hormuz after smaller attacks appear not to have deterred the IRGC.
U.S. economy turns in sluggish 1.5 per cent second-quarter growth and inflation remains above Fed target
Thursday 30 July 2026 14:40 , Maira ButtThe US economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. But consumer spending rose. And the Federal Reserve's favored measure of inflation grew more slowly last month, but remained above the central bank's 2% target.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that growth in U.S. gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — decelerated from 2.1% in the first three months of 2026 and came in below economists' expectations.
U.S. economy turns in sluggish 1.5% second-quarter growth and inflation remains above Fed target
Iran's revolutionary guards claim attack on Kuwait airbase
Thursday 30 July 2026 14:11 , Maira ButtThe IRGC has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, according to Tasnim news agency.
Netanyahu says Israel has ‘special forces’ ready if he is arrested abroad after Mamdani threat
Thursday 30 July 2026 13:33 , Maira ButtIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is not afraid of being arrested as a suspected war criminal in New York and that special forces are on standby if it were attempted.
New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, recently called on the federal government to enforce an arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court in 2024.
While the US is not a member, the arrest warrant means Netanyahu is now an internationally wanted suspect and that the ICC’s 124 member states – including the UK – would be obliged to arrest him if they were to enter their territory.
Netanyahu says Israel has ‘special forces’ ready if he is arrested abroad
Oil prices slip and Asian shares are mostly lower as investors sell chipmaker stocks
Thursday 30 July 2026 13:01 , Maira ButtOil prices fell Wednesday and Asian shares were mostly trading lower as South Korea’s Kospi extended its losses after falling more than 16% over the past two days.
Crude prices remain volatile after the U.S. said early Thursday it had conducted a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran, responding to an attack on a U.S. base.
U.S. futures edged higher after losses on Wall Street.
In South Korea, recent drops in its benchmark Kospi, a big beneficiary of the global boom in artificial intelligence, have been seen by some analysts as a reflection of broader doubts about massive investments by technology giants in expanding capacity for AI.
Oil prices slip and Asian shares are mostly lower as investors sell chipmaker stocks
Iran says talks with Oman over management of Hormuz continues
Thursday 30 July 2026 12:30 , Maira ButtIran has said that talks with Oman over management of the Strait of Hormuz is continuing after Muscat put forward a Gulf-backed proposal on “voluntary fees” for vessels transiting the vital shipping route.
Sources told Reuters that Yemen’s Houthis are also considering a similar proposal for the Red Sea.
Trump’s Iran war is becoming a political disaster, new poll shows
Thursday 30 July 2026 12:00 , Maira ButtA new AP-NORC poll suggests Americans are growing increasingly skeptical of the war with Iran, with about two-thirds saying the conflict has not been worth fighting and support for President Donald Trump's handling of the war slipping.
The survey, conducted July 23-27, found just 28% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of Iran, down from 34% last month. Support also dipped among Republicans, with 61% approving, compared with 71% in June, though the poll's margin of error means the decline is modest.
The findings come after nearly two weeks of intensified fighting in which U.S. forces struck Iranian military and commercial targets and Iran retaliated against American facilities in the Middle East. Eighteen U.S. service members have been killed since the conflict began on Feb. 28.
Trump’s Iran war is becoming a political disaster, new poll shows
Three revolutionary guard members killed in US attacks
Thursday 30 July 2026 11:35 , Maira ButtThree members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been killed in the US strike on Iran, state media has confirmed on Thursday.
US Central Command announced early Thursday that it had launched strikes against Iran in what it called a “powerful response” to attempted attacks on American forces in the Middle East.
Watch: Netanyahu denies persuading Trump on Iran war, asserts 'it's his decision'
Thursday 30 July 2026 10:50 , Maira Butt‘Exasperated’ Trump battles with White House officials ‘over Iran strategy’
Thursday 30 July 2026 10:20 , Maira ButtPresident Donald Trump is “exasperated” by the lack of progress in ending the Iran conflict and the lack of consensus on strategy among his top military advisers, according to a report.
An unnamed ally of the president has told NBC News: “The president is exasperated. I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal.
“There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint… He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war.”
‘Exasperated’ Trump battles with White House officials ‘over Iran strategy’
Kuwait defence ministry says Iranian attack hits Chinese company building, killing one worker
Thursday 30 July 2026 10:00 , Maira ButtAn Iranian attack hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in northern Kuwait on Thursday, killing a worker and inflicting significant damage, the Kuwaiti defence ministry spokesperson said on Thursday in a post on X.
