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Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period and cannot commit to disarming, a senior Hamas official told Reuters on Saturday, revealing major obstacles to U.S. efforts to secure a permanent end to the war.
Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza, with future guarantees depending on Palestinians being given "horizons and hope" for statehood.
Speaking to Reuters from Doha, Nazzal defended the group's crackdown in Gaza, where it carried out public executions. "There were always exceptional measures during war and those executed were criminals guilty of killing," he said.
The timing of Nazzal's comments demonstrates major obstacles obstructing efforts to cement a permanent end to the war in Gaza, days after the first phase of the ceasefire was agreed.
The statements point to significant gaps between Hamas' positions and U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza, ahead of negotiations expected to address Hamas' weapons and how Gaza is governed.
Trump's Sept. 29 plan called for Hamas to immediately return all hostages before committing to disarmament and ceding governance of Gaza to a technocratic committee overseen by an international transitional body.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported the plan, saying it would dismantle Hamas' military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza would never again pose a threat to Israel.
Asked for comment on Nazzal's remarks, the Israeli prime minister's office said Israel was committed to the ceasefire agreement and continued to uphold and fulfill its side of the plan.
"Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas is to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas needs to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time," the office said in a statement to Reuters.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted another 251 during the October 7 attacks on Israel that triggered the war, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military response killed nearly 68,000 people in Gaza, according to local authorities.
Pummelled by Israel in the war, the Palestinian group is under intense pressure to disarm and surrender control of Gaza or risk a resumption of the conflict.
Asked if Hamas would give up its arms, Nazzal said: "I can't answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you're talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?"
He added that issues to be discussed in the next phase of negotiations, including weapons, concerned not only Hamas but other armed Palestinian groups, and would require Palestinians more broadly to reach a position.
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Asked for its response to Nazzal's remarks, the White House directed Reuters to comments by Trump on Saturday. "We have a commitment from them and I assume they're going to honor their commitment," Trump said, noting that Hamas had returned more bodies but without elaborating on the issue of its disarmament or its interim presence on the ground.
Nazzal said Hamas had no interest in keeping the remaining bodies of deceased hostages seized in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. "Hamas has handed over at least nine out of 28 bodies. It was encountering technical problems recovering more," he said.
He added that international parties such as Türkiye or the U.S. would help search if needed. "A senior Turkish official said last week that Turkey would take part in a joint task force along with Israel, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt to locate the bodies," according to reports.
Hamas agreed on Oct. 4 to release the hostages and hand over governance to a technocratic committee, but said other matters needed to be addressed within a wider Palestinian framework. It released all living hostages on Oct. 13.
Nazzal said phase two negotiations would begin soon. On Tuesday, Trump said he had communicated to Hamas that it must disarm or it would be forced to. Trump has also suggested Hamas was given temporary approval for internal security operations in Gaza, and has endorsed Hamas killing members of gangs.
Noting Trump's remarks, Nazzal said there was an understanding regarding Hamas' presence on the ground, without specifying among whom, indicating it was necessary to protect aid trucks from thieves and armed gangs.
"This is a transitional phase. Civilly, there will be a technocratic administration as I said. On the ground, Hamas will be present," he said. After the transitional phase, there should be elections, he said.
Nazzal said mediators had not discussed with the group an international stabilization force for Gaza, which was proposed in Trump's ceasefire plan.
Hamas' founding charter called for the destruction of Israel, although the group's leaders have at times offered a long-term truce with Israel in return for a viable Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. Israel regards this position as a ruse.
Nazzal said Hamas had suggested a long-term truce in meetings with U.S. officials, and wanted a truce of at least three to five years to rebuild the Gaza Strip. "The goal isn't to prepare for a future war," he said.
Beyond that period, guarantees for the future would require states to "provide horizons and hope for the Palestinian people," he said, concluding with, "The Palestinian people want an independent Palestinian state."
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