As Iranian officials link any halt in fighting with the US and Israel to all fronts of the so-called “axis of resistance,” with a focus on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are negotiating a disarmament plan while pushing to retain part of their arsenal.
Israel and the United States insist on full disarmament. The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, reject that demand.
A two-week ceasefire announced by Washington and Tehran, meant to pave the way for a final deal, has raised questions over whether Hamas will use it to delay or reshape disarmament.
Field sources in Hamas and other factions say they fear Israel could escalate again in Gaza, increasing targeted killings and possibly striking new targets, whether the war with Iran ends temporarily or permanently.
Two field sources from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said there are signs of Israeli escalation, but without large-scale ground operations, adding that factions are on heightened alert.
Limited reliance
A senior Hamas official said the group’s stance is rooted in “national constants,” including keeping its weapons to deter any aggression, a duty it cannot abandon.
He described Iran’s call to link all fronts as “important,” but said Hamas does not fully rely on it and sees no such option for now. Israel and the United States, he said, have worked for more than two years to separate the fronts.
Three Hamas sources said the group had previously counted on linking fronts, during talks on Lebanon and Yemen and during the 12-day war on Iran in June 2025, but “circumstances imposed a different reality.”
A Hamas source in Gaza said tying Gaza talks to other fronts had failed before, leaving no clear reliance on that approach now.
He added Iran’s position may relate more to Lebanon than Gaza, stressing that relying on it is misplaced, as Israel and the US would reject it, as they have before.
“What Hamas is relying on now is its own position, alongside the Palestinian factions, as it enters the most difficult phase of negotiations,” he said.
Two Hamas sources said the group’s strategy is to remove any pretext for Israel to resume the war, while rejecting proposals from the “Board of Peace” or mediators as fixed terms without amendments.
Core demands
Hamas and other factions said they had told mediators in a unified position that they want “full Israeli commitment” to the first phase before moving to the second, including the issue of weapons.
They also demand that reconstruction and aid not be tied to other files, a full Israeli withdrawal, a complete halt to violations, guarantees against interference in Palestinian political affairs, particularly governance in Gaza, and an end to restrictions on movement through the Rafah crossing and on the entry of goods.
New meetings between Hamas and mediators are expected early next week as disarmament talks continue.
A senior Hamas delegation met in Cairo about a week ago with Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza at the “Board of Peace,” for the second time in two weeks.
The group’s leadership also met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week on the same issue.
