News / Palestine

Hamas leader rejects disarmament, foreign rule in Gaza

Sunday, 08 February 2026 1:45 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 08 February 2026 2:13 PM ]

People check the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip on November 17, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

A senior leader of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has firmly rejected calls for the group to surrender its weapons or accept foreign intervention in Gaza, pushing back against demands from the United States and Israel tied to the ongoing ceasefire process.

Khaled Meshaal, a former Hamas chief who currently heads the group’s diaspora office, made these remarks during a conference in Doha on Sunday, emphasizing that efforts to criminalize armed resistance and disarm Palestinian factions are “unacceptable” under continued Israeli occupation.

“Criminalizing the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,” Meshaal said.

“As long as there is occupation, there is resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation ... something nations take pride in,” he added.

Meshaal further warned that Hamas would unequivocally reject any form of foreign rule in Gaza.

Hamas never agreed to lay down arms in truce talks: Official

A senior Hamas official says the Palestinian resistance group never agreed to surrender its weapons in the course of indirect ceasefire talks.

“We adhere to our national principles and reject the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or the return of a mandate in any form,” he said.

“Palestinians are to govern Palestinians. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule,” he added.

Meshaal further urged the so-called Board of Peace to adopt a “balanced approach” that would facilitate Gaza’s reconstruction and the flow of aid to its roughly 2.2 million residents.

The US-brokered ceasefire, reached on October 10, 2025, mandated Israel to open all crossings into Gaza, allowing food and aid to enter and ending hostilities in exchange for the release of all captives held by Hamas.

While Hamas has complied with the agreement, Israel has continued attacks on Gaza and kept most crossings closed, thereby blocking vital aid.

In January, US President Donald Trump initiated the establishment of a new “Board of Peace” tasked with supporting the ceasefire in Gaza.

Senior Hamas official: Resistance will not disarm, demands stronger ceasefire guarantees

Hamas does not give up its weapons to any foreign power and rejects outside interference in Palestinian affairs, a senior Hamas official says.

The board, part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Gaza war, is expected to temporarily oversee the running of the territory, with approximately 60 countries invited to join at a cost of a billion dollars each for permanent membership.

The Israeli genocidal war has killed nearly 72,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 171,000 others, and devastated about 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure since October 2023.

The UN has estimated reconstruction costs at about $70 billion.

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