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Hamas on Sunday warned against attempts to “re-engineer” the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians from the enclave, accusing Israel of pursuing plans aimed at reshaping Gaza and undermining Palestinian self-rule.
In a statement marking its 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 Palestinians alone have the right to choose their leaders and manage their own affairs.
The group said achieving a national consensus around a unified Palestinian strategy is “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.”
Hamas said that over two years of what it described as a genocidal war in Gaza, “the (Israeli) occupation has achieved nothing but the criminal targeting of unarmed civilians.”
“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,” the statement said.
The group urged the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to continue legal proceedings and hold Israeli leaders accountable for actions carried out since October 2023.
Reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire agreement, Hamas called on the United States and other mediators to pressure Israel to halt what it described as repeated violations, open border crossings for unrestricted humanitarian aid, and immediately implement relief, shelter and reconstruction plans for over 2 million Palestinians.
Hamas also reiterated its rejection of “all forms of guardianship or mandate over the Gaza Strip or any inch of our occupied land.”
Separately, Hamas Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said the group has a “legitimate right” to retain its weapons and that any proposal for future phases of the ceasefire must recognize that position.
“Resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right guaranteed by international law and are linked to the establishment of a Palestinian state,” al-Hayya said in a televised address on Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV.
“We are open to studying any proposals that preserve this right while guaranteeing the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he added.
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect in Gaza on Oct. 10, ending over two years of Israeli attacks that have killed more than 70,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured nearly 171,000 others since October 2023.
Despite the truce, the Israeli army has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, according to Palestinian authorities, killing at least 386 Palestinians and injuring 1,018 others since Oct. 10.
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