Hamas on Saturday firmly denied that it was willing to disarm, contradicting remarks made by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff during his meeting with Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv.
In a strongly worded statement, Hamas said, “The resistance and its weapons will not be abandoned until our full national rights are restored, foremost among which is the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Witkoff told demonstrators in Tel Aviv that "Hamas has said that they are prepared to be demilitarized" and claimed that “multiple Arab governments are now demanding that Hamas demilitarize,” suggesting that a solution to end the Gaza conflict was close. His comments were reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Hamas swiftly rejected those assertions, describing Witkoff's visit to Gaza a day earlier as “a pre-scripted theatrical performance designed to mislead public opinion, whitewash the occupation's image, and provide political cover for its starvation policies and systematic killing of innocent children and civilians in Gaza.”
The group further accused the U.S. administration of being "fully complicit in these starvation crimes," after Witkoff toured a controversial aid distribution facility run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza.
The developments come as efforts to broker a ceasefire continue to stall, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.
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Loyalists of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won most municipal races, election officials said on Sunday (26 April). Reuters reported that elections were held for the first time in nearly two decades in the central Gaza city of Deir al‑Balah, which is governed by Hamas.
Residents in central Gaza are preparing to vote in municipal elections on Saturday (25 April), marking the first ballot in the Strip since 2006. The vote in Deir al-Balah is being watched closely as a rare indication of public sentiment, including towards Hamas.
Representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” have held discussions with Dubai‑based logistics giant DP World over potential roles in managing supply chains and infrastructure projects in Gaza, Reuters reports, citing the Financial Times, which reported on Tuesday.
Israeli strikes killed at least five people across the Gaza Strip on Monday (20 April), Palestinian health officials said, as clashes were reported between Hamas fighters and an Israeli-backed militia.
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