Arabic version: حماس ترفض نزع السلاح، وتقتصر الأسلحة على قوات الشرطة الرسمية

Hamas says it will not hand over its weapons right now, resisting ongoing disarmament demands and stating that the ultimate fate of its military arsenal will be decided following comprehensive discussions with other Palestinian factions. According to Al Jazeera, Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas political bureau, emphasized that while visible weapons will be limited to those of the police, this does not equate to a formal surrender of arms.

Badran clarified that discussions regarding the fate of Hamas’s military arsenal will occur within a national framework, particularly as the group prepares for renewed talks in Cairo with various Palestinian factions. These discussions are crucial as they aim to address the stalled negotiations surrounding the ceasefire originally proposed by the United States in October 2025.

The upcoming meetings in Cairo will involve eight key Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, among others. Badran pointed out that while the ceasefire plan is intended to bring humanitarian aid and reconstruction, Israel has failed to implement even 30 percent of its phase one obligations, complicating the transition to subsequent phases of the proposed ceasefire.

As the disarmament issue remains a significant sticking point, Israeli officials and Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on Trump’s “Board of Peace”, are conditioning further progress on the disarmament of armed groups. Meanwhile, Palestinian factions are demanding the fulfillment of initial survival metrics, as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate with critical infrastructure severely damaged. The negotiations are seen by some analysts as a tactic by Israel to gain time while solidifying its territorial control in the region.