Hamas’s political leader outside Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, has offered assurances that the group would take measures to curb any future attacks on Israel from the besieged Palestinian enclave, but added that surrendering its weapons would be like “removing the soul” from the group.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic’s Mawazin, to be aired on Wednesday evening, the Hamas political chief laid out the group’s positions on key issues amid rising concern that momentum on ceasefire talks may fade as the first phase draws to a conclusion.
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Hamas said on Tuesday that the ceasefire cannot move forward if Israel continues its violations of the agreement, with authorities saying the truce has been breached at least 738 times since taking effect on October 10.
Meshaal also told Al Jazeera that Hamas would not accept a non-Palestinian governing authority for Gaza, amid speculation over the makeup of United States President Donald Trump’s so-called “board of peace”, which has been floated as a possible alternative to Hamas’s rule since 2006.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair‘s candidacy to the board had been ruled out, following opposition from several Arab and Muslim states.
Blair is heavily tarnished for his key role in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation and devastation of the US-led war in Iraq, as well as his failed role as Quartet envoy to the Middle East.
Hamas had already voiced its objection to Blair’s inclusion in September, with its official Husam Badran calling him “an unwelcome figure” and “an ominous sign”. “He has brought no good to the Palestinian cause, nor to Arabs or Muslims, and his criminal and destructive role has been known for years,” Badran said.
The US-brokered ceasefire agreed in October has largely held, despite frequent Israeli violations and fewer by Hamas. At least 377 people have been killed in Israeli attacks. Yet, at the Doha Forum last week, mediators warned that momentum behind the deal is slipping.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said at the forum that the Gaza ceasefire was at a “critical moment”, while the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers urged the US and other parties to redouble efforts to keep the process on track.
All but one of the captives, living and deceased, taken to Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023 have now been returned, while hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have also been released by Israeli authorities back to Gaza as part of the agreement which ended the fighting.
Many of those Palestinian prisoners’ bodies have shown signs of torture, mutilation and execution, with families unable to identify them.
On Tuesday, a Hamas official said Israel has not fully adhered to the first phase of the agreement, citing the unopened Rafah crossing, aid volumes much below the agreed levels, and near-daily Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said the first phase was nearly complete and expressed his aim to “achieve the same results in the second stage”, adding that he would meet Trump in Washington, DC, at the end of this month to advance it.
A US official told Al Jazeera that intensive negotiations for the second phase are under way and making progress.
Meshaal told Al Jazeera that increasing aid flow into Gaza is essential for the second phase to begin, which would mark the formal end of the war and include a full Israeli withdrawal — beyond the partial pullback to the so-called yellow line, which still leaves Israel in control of more than half of Gaza — a key goal for Hamas.
“We informed the mediators that Gaza needs those who can help it rise and recover again,” Meshaal said.
Disarmament will be a key issue. Israel has demanded it, while Hamas officials have expressed ambivalence, but which Meshaal said would be akin to “removing the soul” of the group. Hamas officials have previously said they would be prepared to relinquish their arms to a Palestinian state.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who has indicated his country could join an international stabilisation force (ISF) in Gaza responsible for disarming Hamas, urged patience at the Doha Forum, saying disarmament would not occur in the “first stage” and emphasising that “we need to proceed in the correct order and remain realistic”.
Israel opposes the presence of Turkish troops in Gaza and has said disarming Hamas must be the top priority in the second phase once it begins.
On Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the ISF needed to be sent to Gaza “as soon as possible” because on “one side, Israel is violating the ceasefire every day, but claims the other side is responsible, so we need monitors along the yellow side in order to verify and monitor”.