The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.

A US official reiterates the Trump administration’s stance that those in Gaza who agree to give up their weapons will be granted amnesty

“We think disarmament comes along with some sort of amnesty, and candidly, we think we have a very good program to disarm. We’re in contact, or people representing us, are in contact with [Hamas], and we expect it to happen,” the US official says during a briefing with reporters.

The amnesty-for-weapons offer to Hamas fighters was laid out in a 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war unveiled by US President Donald Trump’s administration in September. It was verbally welcomed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose coalition partners criticized elements of the proposal that spoke of the creation of a pathway for a Palestinian state. For their part, Hamas officials have rejected the parts of the plan that called for the terror group to disarm.

The ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas actually signed only focused on the first phase of the agreement, which covered a hostage-prisoner swap, Israel’s initial pullback from the Strip and humanitarian aid provisions.

But the US official briefing reporters insisted that Hamas had agreed to a proposal that also included it giving up its weapons.

“They signed an agreement… if they decide to play games, then obviously President Trump will take other actions,” the US official says.

Hamas has vowed to hold onto its weapons, and officials familiar with the negotiations have told The Times of Israel that the mediators are pushing for a gradual handover of its arms — a framework Israel opposes.

The US official says Washington is working on a disarmament program with Israel along with the other Gaza ceasefire mediators — Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — and that announcements on the matter will hopefully be made in the coming weeks.

The US official reiterates his belief that potential donors will not be willing to contribute funds to the reconstruction of Gaza absent the Strip’s demilitarization.

“President Trump is fully aligned with Prime Minister Netanyahu with [the] statement that the rebuilding will not occur until there’s a demilitarization and a disarmament of Hamas,” the US official says.

Asked whether Israel is prepared to fully cooperate with the transition to the second phase of the Gaza plan announced earlier this month, the US official insists that Jerusalem is on board.

“Israel is looking to give space and to try and help support the people of Gaza who want to see it rebuilt,” the US official says, adding that this includes Israel withdrawing to the Gaza perimeter as Hamas disarms. “The ball is in the court of Hamas… They’re the ones standing in the way of Gaza being rebuilt and the people of Gaza living a better life.”

The US official says that more than 25 countries have agreed to join the Board of Peace. Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed “20 additional countries” had agreed to join Trump’s board, seemingly suggesting that this new group was on top of the roughly 20 that had already agreed to join last week.

A Times of Israel tally of official announcements from countries confirming decisions to join the Board of Peace stands at 26, including the United States itself. The other countries that have agreed to join are Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Nearly a dozen countries have indicated or explicitly rejected invites to join the Board of Peace, including, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom and Ukraine

Others have yet to respond to the invitation, including China, Croatia, Cyprus, India, the European Union, Russia and Singapore. The US........

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