Hamas warns against Israeli plans to “re-engineer” Gaza, displace Palestinians

Hamas on Sunday warned against attempts to “re-engineer” the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians from the enclave in line with Israeli plans.

In a statement marking the group’s 38th anniversary, Hamas cautioned against “colluding with attempts at displacement and re-engineering the Gaza Strip according to the (Israeli) enemy's plans,” stressing that the Palestinian people are the sole authority to choose their governors and are capable of managing their own affairs.

Hamas described achieving a national consensus on a unified Palestinian strategy as “the only way to confront the plans of the (Israeli) occupation and its supporters, which aim to liquidate our national cause and prevent the establishment of our independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Over the course of two years of genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, “the (Israeli) occupation has achieved nothing but the criminal targeting of unarmed civilians," Hamas said.

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"The systematic and well-documented crimes of the Zionist enemy over the two years of genocide and starvation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and occupied Jerusalem will not lapse with time," it added, urging the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to continue their legal proceedings and ensure Israeli leaders are held accountable for their crimes since October 2023.

Reaffirming its compliance with the ceasefire agreement, Hamas called on the US and other mediators of the deal to compel Israel to halt its violations, open the border crossings to the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid, and immediately implement relief, shelter, and reconstruction plans for more than 2 million Palestinians.

Hamas also expressed its categorical rejection of “all forms of guardianship or mandate over the Gaza Strip or any inch of our occupied land.”

Hamas chief Khalil Hayya said the mission of the “Board of Peace” under the ceasefire is to sponsor the implementation of the agreement, as well as to finance and oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Similarly, the role of the International Stabilization Forces (ISF) should be limited to maintaining the ceasefire “without undertaking any tasks inside the Gaza Strip or interfering in its internal affairs,” Hayya added in a televised speech.

He reiterated Hamas’ readiness to hand over all administrative affairs of the Gaza Strip to an independent Palestinian technocratic committee.

Hayya called for moving to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement to achieve the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and begin the territory’s reconstruction.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect in Gaza on Oct. 10, halting over two years of Israeli attacks that killed more than 70,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured nearly 171,000 others since October 2023.

But the Israeli army has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, killing at least 386 Palestinians and injuring 1,018 others since Oct. 10.