ALWAGHT- On Sunday, a senior Hamas official defended the October 7th “Al-Aqsa Storm” operation as a defensive response to "decades-long Israeli atrocities," while stating the group is ready for a comprehensive approach in the next round of ceasefire talks.
A senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, stated the group is open to a "comprehensive approach" in upcoming ceasefire talks to prevent further escalation. While asserting Hamas's right to resist, he expressed flexibility regarding the group's weapons, suggesting they could be "frozen or stored" under Palestinian guarantees during a truce. He framed Hamas's October 7th attack, which he referred to as the "Al-Aqsa Storm" operation, as a defensive act necessitated by decades of Israeli occupation and policy since 1948, stating, "History didn’t start on Oct. 7."
The official outlined specific conditions for a lasting agreement, welcoming a United Nations force to supervise ceasefire compliance at the borders but firmly rejecting any foreign military mandate inside Palestinian territory. He also reported progress in discussions with the Palestinian Authority to form a new technocratic committee to administer Gaza's daily affairs after a ceasefire. These positions come amid a temporary truce that has slowed the conflict, which Hamas and Palestinian sources describe as a genocidal war that has killed over 70,000 civilians.
These proposals stand in direct contrast to the core demands of Israel and its Western allies, who insist on the complete disarmament and demilitarization of Hamas as a non-negotiable condition for a permanent ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the upcoming second phase of talks would aim specifically for this disarmament. Palestinians broadly reject this, arguing that surrendering arms without achieving a sovereign state would be an act of surrender, and that international law upholds their right to resist military occupation.
The fundamental gap remains: Hamas seeks a ceasefire that leads to a Palestinian state and is willing to discuss conditional, temporary measures regarding its weapons, while Israel demands the group's permanent disarmament as a precondition. The second phase of talks is set to involve further Israeli withdrawals and the proposed establishment of a transitional authority alongside an international stabilization force, with both sides holding starkly different visions for Gaza's future security and governance.
