Hamas ready to fight if Gaza war resumes, denies disarmament

Hamas stands ready to fight if war resumes in Gaza and rejects proposals to leave the territory under US President Donald Trump's peace plan, a senior official told AFP on Saturday.

Political bureau member Hossam Badran also predicted difficult negotiations ahead, suggesting the key question of disarmament could be a sticking point for the Palestinian militant group.

He was speaking in Doha -- where Israel struck a Hamas meeting last month, killing six people -- as a ceasefire holds in Gaza ahead of a Monday deadline for the release of Israeli hostages captured during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks.

However, many parts of US President Donald Trump's proposal have still not been agreed, including Hamas's disarmament and plans for post-war governance.

'Disarmament, out of question'

Hamas’s disarmament as part of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza is “out of the question,” a Hamas official told AFP on Saturday.

“The proposed weapons handover is out of the question and not negotiable,” the official said.

The US president has indicated the issue of Hamas surrendering its weapons would be addressed in the second phase of the peace plan.

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The 20-point plan promises amnesty to Hamas members who decommission their weapons and says they will be allowed to leave Gaza.

The Hamas official was speaking as a ceasefire holds in Gaza ahead of Monday’s 72-hour deadline for the release of Israeli hostages held since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks.

Hamas’s disarmament and the pullback of Israeli forces are seen as key sticking points for Trump’s plan despite rising hopes for the end of two years of devastating war.

On October 1, Hamas officials said they wanted amendments to clauses in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, including those related to disarmament.

Also Read: Hamas, Israel sign ceasefire deal, rekindling hopes for peace in Gaza

Hamas negotiators, during talks with Turkish, Egyptian, and Qatari officials in Doha, conveyed their conditions a day before issuing the statement.

Trump’s plan called for the group’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. But Hamas sources said they sought to amend the clauses on disarmament and the expulsion of Hamas and faction members.

Hamas also said it wanted “international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” and assurances that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside the territory.