“Hamas has reaffirmed that it will not agree to disarm unless a sovereign Palestinian state is established, in response to one of Israel’s key demands in talks about a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Palestinian armed group said it was responding to remarks it attributed to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff that Hamas had “expressed its willingness” to lay down its weapons.
Israel considers the disarmament of Hamas one of several key conditions for any deal to end the conflict.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages stalled last week.Witkoff has been visiting Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
UN agencies have warned there is man-made, mass starvation in Gaza, and have blamed Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies to the territory. Israel has insisted there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and that there is “no starvation”.
Earlier on Saturday, Witkoff met in Tel Aviv with families of Israeli hostages who are still in Gaza.
Footage posted online showed the Washington negotiator being greeted with applause and pleas for help by supporters of the hostages’ families as he arrived in a square that has become known for protests.
Witkoff said peace efforts should focus on ending the conflict and bringing home all the hostages, instead of what he called a partial deal.
As part of Witkoff’s trip, he met Netanyahu on Thursday and on Friday he inspected a widely-criticised aid site in southern Gaza.
