Hamas Rejects Immediate Disarmament, Proposes Long-Term Truce Ahead of Cairo Summit

Hamas Rejects Immediate Disarmament, Proposes Long-Term Truce Ahead of Cairo Summit

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Hamas political bureau member Husam Badran stated that the group does not intend to surrender its military arsenal in the short term. The statement comes on the eve of a new round of negotiations in Cairo, which will gather eight Palestinian factions this weekend to attempt to salvage the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan.

Instead of a formal surrender of arms, Hamas is proposing a long-term hudna (truce) and a gradual internal security model. According to Badran, once the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) takes over the region, public security will be handled exclusively by the official Palestinian police.

"There will be no visible weapons in the streets and alleys of Gaza except the official weapons belonging to this committee," Badran assured. The ultimate fate of the group's military arsenal, however, will only be decided later through comprehensive discussions with other national factions.

 

Hamas's stance comes amid deep stagnation regarding the 2025 peace plan. The group accuses Israel of failing to comply with the terms of "Phase 1" of the agreement—which included the entry of 600 humanitarian aid trucks per day (the flow currently stands between 150 and 250) and an end to the targeted assassinations of military leaders.

The 15-Point Deadlock

On the other hand, international mediators and Israeli officials are conditioning the advancement of negotiations on disarmament. Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the Trump administration's "Board of Peace," recently presented a 15-point roadmap to the UN Security Council. The plan envisions a gradual decommissioning of Palestinian weapons to the NCAG, synchronized with a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces to Gaza's perimeter under the supervision of an International Stabilization Force (ISF).

Palestinian analysts, however, view the new framework with skepticism. Political analyst Wissam Afifa argues that successive counterproposals serve to buy time for Israel to expand its territorial control in the Gaza Strip—which has reportedly risen from 60% to around 70% of the territory—while the ongoing humanitarian crisis exhausts the local population.

As diplomacy stalls in Cairo, the human toll continues to mount. Updated figures indicate that even after the ceasefire theoretically took effect, ongoing military actions have left over 900 recent dead, raising the total conflict death toll to 72,942 since October 2023.

Key Facts for the Press:

The Event: A reconciliation and alignment meeting of 8 Palestinian factions (including Hamas, Fatah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad) this weekend in Cairo, Egypt.

Hamas's Position: Agrees to remove armed militias from public visibility and center security on the official police force, but rejects the immediate disarmament demanded by the U.S. and Israel.

The Obstacle: Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an NCAG member stated that the body will not assume governance in Gaza as long as Israeli forces control the boundary lines and until an international peacekeeping force is deployed.