EXCLUSIVE-Trump's Gaza plan on hold as Iran war pauses disarmament talks, sources say

By Rami Ayyub, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, March 9 (Reuters) - Talks to advance President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war have been on hold since last week when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran, sparking a broader Middle East war, three sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations said.

The pause threatens to stall implementation of Trump's flagship Middle East peace initiative, which he has cast as a major foreign policy objective. It comes less than a month after he secured billions of dollars in pledges for Gaza from Gulf Arab states - countries that are now facing Iranian attacks as the conflict widens.

Trump's Gaza plan has hinged in part on whether Hamas militants would lay down their arms in exchange for amnesty, a step intended to pave the way for reconstruction and further Israeli military withdrawals. White House mediators have been backchanneling between Israel and Hamas on the disarmament question.

Negotiations on this and other issues were paused when the Iran war began on February 28, the three sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks. A pause in disarmament talks has not been previously reported.

A White House official denied there had been any pause in the talks, saying: "Discussions on disarmament are ongoing and positive. All of the mediators agree that this is a critical step to enable rebuilding for the people of Gaza."

But Zaha Hassan, of the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said countries including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar which pledged funds for Trump's Board of Peace mission may now be questioning if this is "really money well spent now that they are dodging rocket fire."

HAMAS CONFIRMS PAUSE TO TALKS ON TRUMP PLAN

One of the sources, who has direct knowledge of work by Trump's Board of Peace mission, described the pause as a brief, minor delay caused by flight disruptions preventing mediators and representatives from travelling around the region. Talks have frequently been held in Cairo.

Over the longer term, the Board of Peace believes the war could accelerate a resolution of the disarmament issue by removing Iranian influence, which has long supported Hamas financially, the source said.

Another source — a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort — said Hamas had been expected to hold talks with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators on the day the war erupted, but the meeting was scrapped and no new date has been set.

A Hamas official confirmed that talks on Trump's Gaza plan had been frozen for now, but declined to elaborate.

A Trump administration official said the "situation in the region has impacted some travel but discussions and progress continue."

Without commenting directly on the talks, an Israeli government official said the issue of Hamas disarmament was non-negotiable.

"It will be done the easy way or the hard way," the official said. Israel has repeatedly threatened to return to attacking Gaza in full force if Hamas does not lay down its weapons.

Israel's military has eased off strikes in Gaza since the start of the war but, citing Hamas threats, has not ceased attacks as Israeli jets carry out bombing campaigns in Iran and Lebanon. At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since February 28, health officials say.

"The moment the war on Iran is over, (Israel) will come back at us with the same frequency, with the same violence," said Talal Hamouda, 46, who lives in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, with his wife and five children.

Hamas, for its part, has continued to reassert its grip in areas under its control in Gaza since the war began. Sources close to the group say Hamas fighters in recent days ambushed several Israeli-backed militia members in Gaza's north and south, killing at least two people.

CONCERN OVER POTENTIAL ATTACK ON US-LED BASE IN ISRAEL

Trump's plan for Gaza began with an October ceasefire that left Israel controlling more than half the territory, with Hamas controlling the rest. The initiative appeared to gain momentum in the month leading up to the war, including the reopening of Gaza's border crossing with Egypt and new pledges for reconstruction.

Much of Washington's multinational coordination on Gaza policy has been run out of a U.S.-led military compound in southern Israel. Foreign diplomats posted there said momentum behind the plan appeared to stall as the Iran war escalated.

Three diplomats said the Civil Military Coordination Centre scaled back to minimal operations when the war started, and that there were concerns it could be targeted by Iranian missiles.

The diplomats said senior U.S. officials now appear focused on the Iran war, leaving Gaza with limited top-level attention. Still, working-level discussions among countries have continued in the hope that the plan could move forward once the war ends.

Natan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said that "only sustained attention from the Trump administration can keep the plan on track — and the war with Iran has the potential to undermine exactly that."

"Without it, the divergent aims of the two warring parties could easily lead to very different outcomes, and potentially to a resumption of fighting."