Hamas intends to maintain control of security in Gaza during a transitional perioda senior official of the organization told Reuters, adding that it cannot commit to disarmament, positions that underscore the difficulties facing the US plan to end the war.

Mohammed Nazal, a member of the Hamas politburoalso said the organization is ready for a truce of up to five years to rebuild the devastated Gaza, with future guarantees dependent on the Palestinians gaining “perspective and hope” for statehood.

Speaking to Reuters from Doha, where Hamas political figures are based, Nazal defended the group’s crackdown on Gaza, where it carried out public executions on Monday. “In wartime there are always emergency measures, and those who were executed were criminals guilty of murder,” he argued.

Pressures for disarmament

Although Hamas has expressed similar positions in the past, the timing of Nazal’s statements demonstrates the serious obstacles to the effort to consolidate a final peace in Gaza, just days after the agreement on the first phase of the truce.

His remarks highlight the wide gaps between Hamas’ positions and US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, ahead of upcoming negotiations expected to address Hamas’ disarmament and the region’s governance framework.

Commenting on Nazal’s remarks, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel remains committed to the ceasefire agreement and is fully fulfilling its obligations.

“Hamas must release all hostages in the first stage. He hasn’t. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. According to the agreement, it must be disarmed without exception. He hasn’t. Hamas must adhere to the 20-point plan and its time is running out,” the statement said.

Trump’s Sept. 29 plan calls for Hamas to immediately return all hostages before committing to disarmament and handing over the governance of Gaza to a technocratic commission overseen by an international transitional agency.

Asked if Hamas intends to hand over its weapons, Mohammed Nazal replied on Wednesday that “I can’t answer with a yes or a no. Honestly, it depends on the nature of the design. When you talk about disarmament, what exactly do you mean? And to whom will the weapons be delivered?’

He added that the issues to be discussed in the second phase of negotiations, including the issue of weapons, not only concern Hamas, but also other Palestinian armed organizations, and a comprehensive Palestinian position will be needed.

Asked by Reuters about Nazal’s comments, the White House referred to Donald Trump’s remarks on Thursday.

“We have their commitment and I think they will keep it,” Trump said, noting that Hamas had handed over more bodies of hostages, but did not elaborate on disarmament or the group’s presence on the ground in the interim.

Nazal also added that Hamas has no interest in keeping the bodies of the dead hostages from the October 7, 2023 attacks. So far, the organization has handed over 9 of the 28 bodies, while he said it faces technical difficulties in retrieving the rest and that international actors such as Turkey or the United States could help search for them.

A senior Turkish official said last week that Turkey would join a joint mission with Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt to find the bodies.

Nazal indicated that negotiations of the second phase will begin soon.

The aim is the elections after the transition period

On Tuesday, Donald Trump said he had told Hamas it must disarm or be forced to do so. At the same time, he hinted that Hamas had been given temporary approval to take over internal security in Gaza and had approved the organization’s targeting of gang members.

Commenting on Trump’s statements, Mohamed Nazal said there is an understanding about the presence of Hamas in the field, without specifying who, noting that this is necessary to protect humanitarian aid trucks from bandits and armed gangs.

“We are in a transitional phase. Politically, there will be a technocratic administration, as I mentioned. On the ground, Hamas will remain present,” he said, adding that elections should be held after the transition period.

Nazal also said mediators have not discussed with Hamas the issue of an international stabilization force for Gaza, which was proposed in Trump’s truce plan.

Hamas’s founding charter calls for the destruction of Israel, although its leadership has at times proposed a long-term ceasefire in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state in the lands Israel captured in 1967, a position Israel considers pretentious.

Nazal said Hamas has proposed a long-term truce in meetings with US officials and is seeking at least a three- to five-year truce to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

“The goal is not to prepare for a new war,” he stressed.

Beyond this period, he stressed, guarantees for the future should provide for states to offer prospects and hope to the Palestinian people.

“Palestinians want an independent Palestinian state,” he concluded.