Hamas is pushing to have its roughly 10,000 police officers absorbed into a new U.S.-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, setting up a likely confrontation with Israel as negotiations over demilitarization and governance enter a critical phase.

The move highlights the central tension in the Trump administration’s postwar Gaza strategy: how to dismantle Hamas’ military power while preventing institutional collapse in the enclave and standing up a technocratic governing authority meant to exclude the terror group.

Under the October ceasefire deal brokered by President Donald Trump, Hamas retains control of just under half of Gaza, with further Israeli troop withdrawals tied to Hamas giving up its weapons. The second phase of a 20-point plan to end the war calls for governance of Gaza to be transferred to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a U.S.-overseen technocratic body designed to operate without Hamas’ formal participation.

But in a letter to staff on Sunday, seen and reported by Reuters, Gaza’s Hamas-run government urged more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the NCAG, while assuring them it was working to secure their incorporation into the new authority.

That effort includes Hamas’ 10,000-strong police force, which has continued patrolling areas under the group’s control as it reasserts authority on the ground.

It is unclear whether Israel would accept the inclusion of Hamas-linked civil and security personnel in the NCAG. Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected any future role for Hamas in governing Gaza.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters the group was prepared to hand over governance to the 15-member NCAG and its chair, Ali Shaath, “with immediate effect.”

“We (have) full confidence that it will operate on the basis of benefiting from qualified personnel and not wasting the rights of anyone who worked during the previous period,” Qassem said, referring to the potential inclusion of the roughly 40,000 workers.

The sources said Hamas is open to the NCAG restructuring ministries and sending some workers into retirement, but warned that mass dismissals could spark chaos in Gaza’s already fragile administrative system.

At the same time, U.S. officials are pressing for rapid demilitarization. The Trump administration wants heavy weapons decommissioned immediately, with personal arms “registered and decommissioned by sector as NCAG police become capable of guaranteeing personal security,” according to a White House document shared last week.

A U.S. official said Tuesday that Hamas operatives would be granted some form of amnesty as part of the transition.

Diplomats estimate Hamas still possesses hundreds of rockets and thousands of light weapons, including rifles. The group recently agreed to discuss disarmament with other Palestinian factions and mediators, though two Hamas officials told Reuters that no detailed or concrete disarmament proposal has yet been presented.

A Palestinian official close to the talks said Washington has explored mechanisms involving Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to facilitate disarmament.

“Hamas has spoken about the possibility of neutralizing arms, which could be achieved if there is a truce, and it is ready for a long-term ceasefire, five years or a little longer,” the official said.

“But Hamas strongly believes that a serious political negotiation process must begin on Palestinian statehood, whereby weapons and fighters would come under the authority of the State of Palestine,” the official added.

The issue of security leadership is also unresolved.

Sami Nasman, a former Palestinian Authority general assigned to oversee security under the NCAG, faces resistance inside Gaza. Originally from the enclave, Nasman moved to the West Bank after Hamas routed Palestinian Authority forces in 2007. A Hamas court later sentenced him in absentia, accusing him of “fomenting chaos.”

Netanyahu, for his part, has made clear that Israel’s priorities remain focused on disarmament, not reconstruction.

“The next phase is not reconstruction,” Netanyahu told parliament Monday. “The next phase is demilitarization of the Strip and disarming Hamas.”

Under new U.S.-backed demilitarization principles, the NCAG would be empowered to dismantle armed groups, authorize all weapons, and enforce a single chain of command. Heavy weapons, tunnels, production sites and military infrastructure would be destroyed, while personal arms would be registered and phased out sector by sector.

Reconstruction would be explicitly tied to compliance, with investment flowing only to areas where disarmament is verified. Phased verification would trigger calibrated Israeli redeployments, culminating in a full pullback to the perimeter once demilitarization is confirmed.

In the envisioned end state, only NCAG-sanctioned personnel would be allowed to carry arms. Authority would later transfer to a reformed Palestinian Authority.

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