AP Top News at 2:22 p.m. EDT

Hamas says it will disarm if Israel halts strikes and withdraws from Gaza, but obstacles remainCAIRO (AP) — Hamas said Friday that it will begin disarming as part of a deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump that also requires Israel to end its strikes and withdraw from Gaza. It marks a potential breakthrough in ending the war, but implementation faces major challenges. Hamas also said that laying down its heavy weapons, which would come later in the process, was contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel's current government adamantly rejects. Israel has not officially commented on the deal, which is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced last October. That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administra