Al-Hayya stressed that Hamas had remained committed to the agreement despite Israel’s violations [Getty]
A senior Hamas official announced on Saturday that the group has accepted a ceasefire proposal presented by international mediators, but warned the group would not hand over the Gaza Strip to any “unknown party” that serves the interests of the Israeli occupation.
Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group had shown flexibility and agreed to the latest proposal in good faith, but accused Israel of continuing to stall and evade its obligations to prolong the war.
“Despite Israel’s failure to fully respect the terms of the first phase of the agreement, Hamas committed to all of its responsibilities and worked with the mediators to push Israel to fulfil its pledges,” al-Hayya said. “But after the first phase ended, Israel completely abandoned the agreement.”
He added that Israel had not followed through on its promise to begin negotiations on the second phase, nor had it withdrawn from the Salah al-Din (Philadelphi) corridor.
Instead, al-Hayya said, Israel had escalated its assault on Gaza with intensified attacks, raids on residential areas, and a continued blockade that has restricted humanitarian aid.
Al-Hayya stressed that Hamas had remained committed to the agreement despite Israel’s violations, and had conveyed its position to international mediators and the wider global community.
He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging mediation efforts to prolong the war and keep his government in power.
“Anyone who thinks we will surrender Gaza to the occupation’s will is deluded,” al-Hayya declared. “The resistance will never abandon its responsibilities to the Palestinian people or allow them to be handed over to an unknown fate.”
He firmly rejected any plans for displacement, humiliation, or disarmament, stating that the weapons of the resistance are a “red line” tied to the continued presence of the occupation and the pursuit of an independent Palestinian state.
On the internal front, al-Hayya said Hamas was working according to a strategy laid out by its former political leader Ismail Haniyeh during the early weeks of the war.
The vision rests on three main points: ending the Israeli assault, achieving national unity to build on the outcomes of the war, and collaborating with all Palestinian factions to secure full sovereignty and ensure the right of return for refugees.
As part of those efforts, al-Hayya noted that Hamas had engaged in international diplomacy, with delegations visiting Russia and China twice, and had reached consensus with other Palestinian factions to form a technocratic national unity government.
The movement also accepted an Egyptian proposal to establish a community support committee to temporarily administer Gaza, made up of independent national figures who would assume full responsibilities once an agreement is reached.
Al-Hayya said advanced steps had already been taken, including presenting Egypt with a list of qualified, independent candidates backed by multiple Palestinian groups.
He expressed hope that Egypt would expedite the formation of this committee, which he said had received broad support from Arab and Islamic states.
