Senior Hamas official has declared the group’s unwavering intent to maintain security control over Gaza during any transitional phase, while refusing to commit to disarming without concrete guarantees for Palestinian statehood. Speaking to Reuters from Doha on October 15, 2025, Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal exposed the deep rift between the militant group’s stance and U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitious ceasefire plan, unveiled just weeks ago. As the fragile first phase of the October 9 ceasefire—brokered in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh—teeters, Nazzal’s remarks underscore the immense challenges facing mediators striving to end a two-year war that has left Gaza in ruins and Israel scarred.
The conflict, ignited by Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 others, has unleashed unprecedented devastation. Israel’s relentless military response has claimed nearly 68,000 Palestinian lives, per Gaza health authorities, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. Against this backdrop, Trump’s September 29, 2025, 20-point plan emerged as a potential lifeline, crafted with input from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Announced alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it demanded Hamas release all hostages—dead or alive—disarm completely, and cede Gaza’s governance to a technocratic committee under a Trump-led “Board of Peace” featuring global figures like former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. In exchange, Israel committed to phased troop withdrawals, massive humanitarian aid, and the release of up to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu called it a historic chance to dismantle Hamas’s military threat and reimagine Gaza as a deradicalized, prosperous hub.
Yet, Nazzal’s interview, days after Israel ratified the deal’s first phase, reveals a chasm. Hamas has partially complied, freeing all living hostages on October 13 and delivering nine of 28 deceased captives’ remains, with Turkey and the U.S. aiding efforts to locate others amid war-torn chaos. Jubilation swept Tel Aviv and Gaza as Rafah Crossing opened wider, funneling hundreds of aid trucks with food, medicine, and rebuilding supplies under UN oversight. But Nazzal was resolute: Hamas will retain a ground presence for “internal security” to protect aid from looters and rival gangs during this “transitional phase.” He justified Monday’s public executions of convicted killers as wartime necessities, a move Trump tacitly endorsed Tuesday, praising Hamas’s crackdown on criminal elements. “Order is needed in this chaos,” Nazzal asserted, framing the group’s role as stabilizing, not oppressive.
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The disarmament issue looms largest. When pressed on surrendering Hamas’s arsenal, Nazzal hedged: “I can’t say yes or no. It depends on the project. To whom do we hand the weapons?” He insisted talks must involve all Palestinian factions, requiring a unified stance tied to “horizons and hope” for a state on 1967 borders. Despite its charter’s call for Israel’s destruction, Hamas has floated long-term truces, and Nazzal reiterated readiness for a three-to-five-year ceasefire to rebuild Gaza, provided postwar guarantees emerge. “We’re not planning another war,” he told U.S. mediators, but without statehood assurances, disarmament remains a non-starter, viewing Trump’s push as an attempt to neuter Palestinian resistance.
Israel’s retort was fierce. Netanyahu’s office blasted Hamas for violating the agreement, citing incomplete hostage body returns and zero disarmament progress. “No ifs, no buts—they’re out of time,” it told Reuters, vowing to uphold Israel’s commitments. Trump, speaking Thursday, expressed cautious optimism after the partial body returns but warned of “obliteration” if Hamas reneges. The White House deflected further queries, pointing to Trump’s confidence as phase two talks loom in Cairo. These negotiations—covering deeper Israeli withdrawals, full aid restoration, and the technocratic handover—hinge on Hamas yielding on weapons and governance, with an Arab-led stabilization force and elections post-transition still unresolved.
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