Hamas has firmly denied reports that it expressed willingness to embark on disarmament during Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Israel, emphasizing its “national and legal” right to confront the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. The Palestinian group made this assertion in response to remarks purportedly made by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, during a meeting with relatives of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
According to Israeli news outlet Haaretz, Witkoff told the families that Hamas said it was “prepared to be demilitarised”. However, Hamas countered that “the resistance and its weapons are a national and legal right as long as the [Israeli] occupation persists”. This right, Hamas added, “cannot be relinquished until our full national rights are restored, foremost among them the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital”.
Witkoff’s visit to Gaza has been criticized by Hamas as a “staged show” aimed at misleading the public about the situation in the enclave. The US envoy visited a US and Israeli-backed aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Gaza, which has been surrounded by controversy. Over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed trying to get food at GHF-run sites since the group began operating in the bombarded Palestinian territory in May, according to the United Nations.
Despite the killings and growing criticism, the Trump administration has stood firmly behind GHF, approving $30 million to support the group in June. Witkoff’s comments on disarmament come amid a widening international push to recognize a Palestinian state, with the UK announcing it may follow France in recognizing a Palestinian state in September if Israel does not meet certain conditions, including implementing a ceasefire in Gaza.
The United Nations conference in New York saw 17 countries, plus the European Union and the Arab League, back a seven-page text on reviving a two-state solution to the conflict. The text calls on Hamas to “end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State”. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy echoed an earlier statement by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying London would proceed with recognition if Israel did not meet certain conditions.