Hamas | Pakistan

Hamas and Israeli officials see hurdles

Hamas has agreed to a deal to end its conflict with Israel, under which it will give up its weapons in exchange for a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from the devastated Gaza Strip. Below are the reactions of several Gazans, who have endured more than two years of strikes, hunger and mass displacement since the conflict began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. While Hamas has agreed to the plan announced by US President Donald Trump, Israel has yet to comment. ‘Afraid to dream’ For displaced teacher Mohammed Hamdouna, the conflict ushered in an era of horror that he hopes can finally draw to a close. “Finally, the world’s longest nightmare will end,” the 35-year-old told AFP. “I’m afraid to dream or believe it until the crossings are opened and aid and temporary shelters begin to enter Gaza,” said Hamdouna. He is one of thousands of Gazans originally from the northern part of the enclave who remain displaced with their families. “Finally, Hamas has agreed to hand over its weapons after Gaza wa...

US President Donald Trump said talks in Cairo between mediators and Hamas leaders on Thursday have led to a phased disarmament agreement in Gaza, but a Hamas official described the deal as a draft and US officials said Israel was sceptical the Palestinian group would surrender its weapons. “Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that the disarmament would come in phases. “This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY.” The agreement was a critical step towards Gaza being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the so-called Board of Peace, Trump said. “At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks,” he added. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s announcement. A Hamas source told Reuters the “draft agreement” ...

A fireball rises after an Israeli air strike on the Al-Muttaqin Mosque.—Reuters GAZA CITY: The Israeli military on Wednesday admitted to bombing a mosque in the Gaza Strip, which it alleged was being used as a weapons storage facility by Hamas. Photos showed fire and a huge plume of smoke rising above tents housing displaced Palestinians after a strike on the Al-Muttaqin Mosque, near the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building. People could be seen combing through vast piles of rubble and debris in the aftermath of the attack. Amir Abu Al-Amrain, the director general of the ministry of awqaf and religious affairs in the Gaza Strip, said Israeli forces had “completely destroyed” the mosque in the air strike. “The occupation cites false pretexts — such as the alleged presence of military sites — to justify these crimes,” he said, calling for urgent intervention to protect mosques and places of worship. As of March 24, 2026, the UN’s cultural agency Unesco had verified damage to 164 sites since the sta...

Palestinian group Hamas announced on Monday the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule. The move marks a significant political shift by Hamas, which has run Gaza since it seized control from Palestine’s Fatah group in 2007 after winning legislative elections the previous year. Since a ceasefire took effect in Gaza last October between Hamas and Israel, the group has repeatedly said it is prepared to step aside from day-to-day governance, but the thorny issue of its disarmament remains unresolved. “The head of the government’s emergency committee Mohammed al-Farra has officially submitted his resignation,” Ismail al-Thawabta, head of Hamas’ government media office told AFP. “He has also decided to dissolve the committee to facilitate the administrative and governmental transition to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).” The NCAG was created by the Board of Peace that US Pr...

Israel said on Wednesday it had killed the new head of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza, Mohammed Odeh, in a strike the day before, after killing his predecessor in a similar attack this month. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed the “commander of the armed wing of the Hamas terrorist organisation in Gaza was eliminated yesterday”. Hamas has not yet commented. “In the Prime Minister’s name and in my own, congratulations to the IDF and the Shin Bet on the brilliant execution,” Katz claimed in a post on X. “We committed ourselves to eliminating everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do: they are all marked for death, wherever they may be.” After announcing the strike on Tuesday, Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement that Odeh had “served as head of Hamas intelligence during the October 7 massacre and was appointed approximately one week ago as successor to Ezzedine al-Haddad”. Haddad was killed by an Israeli strike on May 15. “Odeh was responsible for...

Hamas’s armed wing chief Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza the previous day, the Israeli military and Hamas confirmed on Saturday. The Israeli military and intelligence services have waged an extensive campaign targeting the group’s senior political leaders and commanders in Gaza and across the region. On Friday, the Israeli military said it had carried out an airstrike in Gaza targeting Haddad and confirmed his death on Saturday. “The IDF and the ISA announce that yesterday, in a precise strike in the area of the City of Gaza, Ezzedine Al-Haddad was eliminated,” the military said, referring to itself and the Shin Bet domestic security agency. Two Hamas officials also told AFP that Haddad had been killed in an Israeli strike. “Senior commander… Ezzedine Al-Haddad was assassinated in an Israeli strike targeting a residential apartment and a civilian vehicle in Gaza yesterday,” one senior Hamas official said. A member of Hamas’s armed wing separately confirmed his death. Haddad was kill...

Israel’s parliament passed a law late on Monday establishing a military tribunal to try hundreds of Palestinian fighters linked to the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The surprise attack, led by elite “Nukhba” force fighters from the Palestinian group Hamas, killed at least 1,200 people. The fighters also took 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel responded by launching an assault on the enclave that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and left much of Gaza in ruins. Israel has been holding an estimated 200-300 fighters — the precise number is classified — captured in Israel during the attack, who have not yet been charged. The special military court established by the law, to be presided over by a three-judge panel in Jerusalem, could also try others captured later in Gaza and suspected of participating in the attack, or of having held or abused Israeli hostages. The new law was backed by a wide majority 93 of the Knesset’s 120 lawmakers, in a rare show of Israeli political unity. No trial ...

The envoys from US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” have met representatives of Hamas in Cairo in an effort to safeguard the Gaza ceasefire, under serious strain since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, three sources told Reuters. The weekend meeting is the first publicly reported since the start of the Iran war between Hamas and the board, a new international body personally headed by Trump, which has been tasked with overseeing post-war Gaza. Following the meeting, Israel announced on Sunday that it would soon reopen the sole crossing for pedestrians between Gaza and Egypt, shut since the Iran bombing campaign began. One of the sources said he believed the Israeli announcement was a direct result of the meeting between Hamas and the board. Prior to the war in Iran, Trump’s plan for Gaza was his flagship initiative for the Middle East. The sources said the Hamas representatives warned the board that they could back away from its previous promises under the Gaza ceasefire if Israel main...

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that Hamas may soon be given a deadline to lay down its weapons. “We estimate that in the coming days, Hamas will be given an ultimatum to disarm and completely demilitarise Gaza,” Smotrich said in an interview with public broadcaster Kan. Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in 2023, in retaliation for Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack. Under the first phase of a US-sponsored ceasefire in Gaza intended to halt two years of Isreali onslaught in Gaza, the Israeli army withdrew to positions behind a so-called Yellow Line, but still controls over half of the territory. Both Hamas and Israel accuse each other of near-daily ceasefire violations, with the health ministry in Gaza reporting 615 people killed by Israeli forces since the truce started. The Israeli military says it has lost five of its soldiers during the same period. If Hamas does not comply with the Israeli ultimatum to disarm, the army “will have international legitimacy and American ba...

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that the group was in the final phase of selecting a new leader, with two prominent figures competing for the position. Hamas recently completed the formation of a new Shura Council of more than 80 members, a consultative body largely composed of religious scholars, as well as a new 18-member political bureau, the official said. Since Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel, Israeli forces have killed several Hamas leaders, including two former chiefs. The country has also killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. “The movement has completed its internal elections in the three regions and has reached the final stage of selecting the head of the political bureau,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly. He said the race for the group’s leadership was now between Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya. A second Hamas source confirmed the development, while a third source s...

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that it “looks like” Hamas would give up its weapons, a step the group has not confirmed, in what would be a major step forward in the fragile Gaza ceasefire with Israel. “A lot of people said they’ll never disarm. It looks like they’re going to disarm,” Trump told a cabinet meeting. Trump hailed cooperation with Hamas after Israeli forces brought back the remains of the last captive held in Gaza, Ran Gvili. “They did help us with those bodies, getting them back, and that family is so grateful,” Trump said. Trump had asked for an update on the Middle East from his roving special envoy Steve Witkoff, sitting in the side of the room as cabinet members and media listened. An upbeat Witkoff voiced high confidence in Hamas following through. “We’ve got the terrorists out of there and they’re going to demilitarise. They will because they have no choice,” Witkoff said. “They’re going to give it up. They’re going to give up the AK-47s,” he told Trump. Hamas has said that the...

United States President Donald Trump’s envoy said on Wednesday that a ceasefire plan for Gaza was now entering its second phase with the goal of disarming Hamas, despite several Israeli strikes in the Palestinian territory during the truce that became effective in October last year. “We are announcing the launch of phase two of the president’s 20-Point plan to End the Gaza conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarisation, technocratic governance, and reconstruction,” envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on X. The second phase will also include the setup of a 15-person Palestinian technocratic committee to administer postwar Gaza. Its formation was announced earlier on Wednesday by Egypt, a close US ally and mediator. Phase two “begins the full demilitarisation and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorised personnel”. “The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,” Wi...

Hamas’s armed wing confirmed on Monday the death of its spokesperson, Abu Obeida, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades released a video statement on its Telegram channel, saying: “We pause in reverence before … the masked man loved by millions … the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.” Israel previously announced it had killed Abu Obeida in a strike on Gaza on August 30. During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Palestinians in Gaza, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas’s military wing, particularly those related to prisoner-exchange operations. Born on February 11, 1985 and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He later became the group’s sole spokesman, delivering...

United States Senator Lindsey Graham called on Sunday for renewed military action against Hamas and Hezbollah if they fail to disarm and accused the Palestinian group of consolidating its power in Gaza. The Republican politician, on a visit to Israel, is a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump. Beginning in October, a fragile ceasefire has so far halted two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip despite both sides trading accusations of truce violations. A separate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah also came into effect in November 2024 after more than a year of hostilities, though Israel continues to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory. Israel has made dismantling the arsenals of both groups, allies of its arch-foe Iran, a key condition for any lasting peace. “It’s imperative we come up with a plan quickly, put Hamas on a time clock, give them a period of time to achieve the goal of disarmament,” Graham said at a press conference during his visit. “And if you don’t, I ...

Hamas on Sunday warned against attempts to “re-engineer” the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians from the enclave in line with Israeli plans.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said Pakistan was ready to commit its troops to the Gaza peace force, but distanced the country from any role in disarming the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. A cornerstone of the United States-brokered Gaza Peace Agreement is the establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), composed mainly of troops from Muslim-majority countries. According to officials close to the discussions, an announcement is expected soon from the federal government regarding the decision. Officials familiar with the deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said discussions within the government and military establishment were at an “advanced stage”. According to them, the tone of internal consultations suggests that Islamabad is inclined to take part in the mission. Last week, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza. The ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) endorsed United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan that offers the Palestinian group amnesty. Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan during a White House visit in late September. However, his latest remarks appear to show that there are differences with the US on the path forward. Hamas has also objected to parts of the plan. Diplomats say privately that entrenched positions on both the Israeli and Hamas sides have made it difficult to advance the plan, which lacks specific timelines or enforcement mechanisms. Still, it has received strong international backing, including from the Arab and Muslim countries that worked on it. Netanyahu on Tuesday published a series of posts on X in response to the UN vote. In one post, he applauded Trump and in another wrote the Israeli government believes the plan would lead to peace and prosperity because it calls f...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday rubbished and strongly condemned the contentious remarks made by government spokesperson Danyal Chaudhry regarding the role of Pakistani troops in the Gaza peace force, which also included the disarming of Hamas. Addressing the remarks by the federal parliamentary secretary for information and broadcasting in an interview on Geo News show ‘Naya Pakistan’, the defence minister said: “I will say God forbid on all these three remarks; what kind of statement has he given. Nothing from this is our target or suits us.” In an interview on Tuesday on Ary News show ‘11th Hour’, Chaudhry had said regarding the mandate of the Gaza peace force: “Pakistan and the other countries that will be chosen will make sure there is no extremism or violence … or that there is no cross-border attack. Pakistan will enforce that.” Chaudhry also said that the security of any Pakistani soldier deputed for duty in the force would be the utmost priority. “We will fulfil our duty and protect Muslim br...

Hamas handed over the remains of two Israeli hostages to the Red Cross on Thursday evening under a ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army confirmed.