## Hamas Denies Willingness to Disarm, Criticizes US Envoy's Gaza Visit **News Title:** Hamas denies it expressed willingness to disarm, slams Witkoff’s Gaza trip **Report Provider:** Al Jazeera English **Author:** Al Jazeera **Published Date:** August 2, 2025, 18:29:18 UTC This report details Hamas's strong denial of claims that it was prepared to disarm during Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Israel. The Palestinian group asserts its "national and legal" right to resist the Israeli occupation until its "full national rights are restored," including the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. ### Key Information: * **Hamas's Stance on Disarmament:** Hamas explicitly rejected reports, citing an Israeli news outlet (Haaretz) that claimed US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, stated Hamas was "prepared to be demilitarised." Hamas's statement emphasized that resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right as long as the Israeli occupation continues. * **US Envoy's Visit and Hamas's Criticism:** Steve Witkoff met with relatives of Israeli captives held in Gaza. Prior to this, he visited a US and Israeli-backed aid distribution site run by the GHF in Gaza. Hamas criticized Witkoff's trip as a "staged show" intended to misrepresent the dire situation in the enclave, which is suffering from an Israeli blockade that has led to a starvation crisis. * **GHF Operations and Casualties:** The report highlights that over **1,300 Palestinians** have been killed while attempting to access food at GHF-run sites since the group began operating in Gaza in May, according to the United Nations. Despite these fatalities and growing criticism, the Trump administration has continued to support the GHF, approving **$30 million** in June to support its operations. * **International Push for Palestinian Statehood:** Witkoff's comments on disarmament coincide with a growing international movement to recognize a Palestinian state. * The **United Kingdom** announced at a UN conference that it might recognize a Palestinian state in September, contingent on Israel meeting certain conditions, including a ceasefire in Gaza. * **17 countries**, along with the **European Union** and the **Arab League**, supported a seven-page document at the same UN meeting aimed at reviving a two-state solution. * This text specifically called on Hamas to "end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority." ### Context and Trends: The news underscores the ongoing tensions and conflicting narratives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas's firm stance on its right to resist directly challenges the international pressure, including from the US envoy, for disarmament. The report also highlights the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, exacerbated by the Israeli blockade, and the controversy surrounding aid distribution efforts, as evidenced by the high number of Palestinian casualties at GHF sites. The international community's increasing consideration of recognizing a Palestinian state adds another layer of complexity to the diplomatic landscape.
Hamas denies it expressed willingness to disarm, slams Witkoff’s Gaza trip
Read original at Al Jazeera English →Palestinian group says right to resist Israeli occupation ‘cannot be relinquished until full national rights restored’.Hamas has rejected reports that it expressed a willingness to disarm during Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Israel, stressing that it has a “national and legal” right to confront the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
The Palestinian group responded on Saturday to recent remarks purportedly made by United States President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, during a meeting with relatives of Israeli captives held in Gaza.Citing a recording of the talks, Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported that the US envoy told the families that Hamas said it was “prepared to be demilitarised”.
But in a statement, Hamas said “the resistance and its weapons are a national and legal right as long as the [Israeli] occupation persists”.That right “cannot be relinquished until our full national rights are restored, foremost among them the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital”, it said.
Witkoff met the Israeli captives’ families in Tel Aviv on Saturday, one day after he visited a US and Israeli-backed aid distribution site run by the controversial GHF in Gaza, where a starvation crisis has killed scores of people in recent days.Hamas had earlier slammed the US envoy’s trip as a “staged show” aimed at misleading the public about the situation in the enclave, where an Israeli blockade has spurred a starvation crisis and fuelled global condemnation.
More than 1,300 Palestinians also have been killed trying to get food at GHF-run sites since the group began operating in the bombarded Palestinian territory in May, the United Nations said earlier this week.But the Trump administration has stood firmly behind GHF despite the killings and growing criticism of the group’s operations in Gaza.
In June, Washington announced that it approved $30m to support GHF.Witkoff’s comments on disarmament also come amid a widening international push to recognise a Palestinian state amid the scenes of starvation in Gaza.The United Kingdom announced at a two-day United Nations conference in New York this week that it may follow France in recognising a Palestinian state in September.
Echoing an earlier statement by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said London would proceed with recognition if Israel did not meet certain conditions, including implementing a ceasefire in Gaza.The UN meeting also saw 17 countries, plus the European Union and the Arab League, back a seven-page text on reviving a two-state solution to the conflict.
The text called on Hamas to “end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State”.Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
