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Hamas Source: Strong Response if Trump Implements his Plan

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, making their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, making their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo
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Hamas Source: Strong Response if Trump Implements his Plan

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, making their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, making their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo

A Hamas source in Gaza responded to US President Donald Trump's statement about controlling the Gaza Strip and displacing its residents, saying the group would take strong action if Trump or Israel’s far-right government pursued such a plan.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat under the conditions of anonymity, the source warned that the plan’s consequences would be severe and affect the entire region.

“No one can predict what might happen,” the source said.

Trump’s repeated comments about moving Gaza’s residents to Egypt or Jordan and threatening to take control of Gaza have raised questions about the ability of Palestinians and their groups to resist, given the dire situation in the area.

At a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said the US is prepared to take control of Gaza and handle the dismantling of dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons.

Trump’s remarks drew strong condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and factions, including Hamas, which described the US president’s plans as “hostile” to the Palestinian people and their cause, warning that they would not contribute to regional stability.

Hamas called on the US administration to reverse its position.

A source close to Hamas’ leadership in Gaza told Asharq Al-Awsat that while the group has “become accustomed” to such statements, it “takes them seriously” because they are made publicly and broadcast to the world.

The source added that what stands out about these remarks is their widespread rejection by the Arab, Islamic, and even international communities.

Hamas believes that implementing Trump’s plan would not be easy, and it would not unfold in the way Trump or others suggest, the source explained.

The source reminded that plans to displace Palestinians have existed for decades, but no one has managed to carry them out, even under heavy conflict. He added that just as Israel failed during its war in Gaza, the far-right Israeli government, backed by Trump’s administration or any other force, would not succeed.

The source also emphasized Hamas’ statement, saying any such plans would be seen as a new occupation and met with resistance and force.

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Arab World

Italy Arrests 7 Accused of Raising Millions for Hamas

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Italy Arrests 7 Accused of Raising Millions for Hamas

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Italian police said Saturday that they have arrested seven people suspected of raising millions of euros for Palestinian group Hamas.

Police also issued international arrests for two others outside the country, said AFP.

Three associations, officially supporting Palestinian civilians but allegedly serving as a front for funding Hamas, are implicated in the investigation, said a police statement.

The nine individuals are accused of having financed approximately seven million euros ($8 million) to "associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas."

While the official objective of the three associations was to collect donations "for humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people," more than 71 percent was earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas" or entities affiliated with the movement, according to police.

Some of the money went to "family members implicated in terrorist attacks," the statement said.

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, according to media reports.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi posted on X that the operation "lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations."

Arab World

Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.

Arab World

Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
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Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)

A source from the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the talks with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over their integration into state institutions “have not yielded tangible results.”

Discussions about merging the northeastern institutions into the state remain “hypothetical statements without execution,” it told Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Repeated assertions over Syria’s unity are being contradicted by the reality on the ground in the northeast, where the Kurds hold sway and where administrative, security and military institutions continue to be run separately from the state, it added.

The situation “consolidates the division” instead of addressing it, it warned.

It noted that despite the SDF’s continued highlighting of its dialogue with the Syrian state, these discussions have not led to tangible results.

It seems that the SDF is using this approach to absorb the political pressure on it, said the source. The truth is that there is little actual will to move from discussion to application of the March 10 agreement.

This raises doubts over the SDF’s commitment to the deal, it stressed.

Talk about rapprochement between the state and SDF remains meaningless if the agreement is not implemented on the ground within a specific timeframe, the source remarked.

Furthermore, the continued deployment of armed formations on the ground that are not affiliated with the Syrian army are evidence that progress is not being made.

The persistence of the situation undermines Syria’s sovereignty and hampers efforts to restore stability, it warned.