July 30 (UPI) — Negotiators implementing the Gaza cease-fire plan and Iran-backed Hamas have reached a framework for disarming militant groups in the Palestinian enclave, President Donald Trump announced Thursday.

The tentative agreement could mark a significant breakthrough toward ending Israel’s war in Gaza, though it is contingent on Israel agreeing to withdraw its troops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration has yet to comment.

“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,” Trump said in a statement.

“At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”

Trump’s so-called Board of Peace — a coalition of 28 countries, including Israel, and weighted toward Middle Eastern and smaller or midsize nations — was formed in January and is tied to a U.N.-backed, 20-point plan for the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza, which has been devastated by the war.

According to a late Thursday statement from the Board of Peace, the agreement concludes months of negotiations and is the first time Hamas has committed to disarmament.

The board said that under the agreement, Israeli forces are to withdraw from Gaza after Hamas and other militant groups in the Palestinian enclave relinquish their weapons.

Trump said that after Israel withdraws its forces from Gaza, the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to assume responsibility for security of the enclave.

The agreement “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,” the board said.

Egypt, Qatar and Turkey mediated the agreement, Trump said.

Nickolay Mladenov, director general and high representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, said in a statement that “implementation and verification have to be real.”

“Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning,” he said, adding that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which was established under the plan as a transitional authority, and the Palestinian people “need the political and practical backing to take charge of their own future.”

The announcement comes after Hamas earlier this month said it was dissolving its government to make way for a civilian government, which Israel said was a “trick” unless Hamas also disarms.

“As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will, of course, operate as Hamas dictates,” Defense Minister Gideon Sa’ar of Israel said in a statement.

“Israel insists on the full implementation of the Trump plan, with its core principles being the disarmament of Hamas and all other terrorist organizations, and the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”

The disarmament agreement, as well as the Board of Peace, is part of a 20-point plan that Trump unveiled in September to end the war, which began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militant groups attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people. Another 251 people were taken hostage by the militant groups.

Israel responded with an aggressive offensive campaign that has damaged or destroyed much of Gaza and killed an estimated 75,000 people, many of them women and Children. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister on allegations of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the military campaign.

United Nations estimates show that more than 81% of all buildings and structures in Gaza have been either damaged or destroyed.

U.N. agencies have said that around $70 billion is needed to reconstruct the enclave, which measures about 25.4 miles long and between 2.7 and 7.5 miles wide along the Mediterranean.