Hamas warns of escalation amid ceasefire tensions
The Hamas Movement on Tuesday accused the Zionist regime’s occupation government of disregarding the ceasefire agreement and ignoring diplomatic efforts aimed at maintaining calm, warning that Zionist regime would bear responsibility for any renewed escalation.
The remarks came after Zionist regime’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reiterated that the government’s objective remains the “destruction of Hamas,” while suggesting that US president Donald Trump be given room to intervene in his own way.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Smotrich’s statements demonstrate that the Zionist regime’s government “places no weight on any political process or international meetings” that sought to consolidate the truce.
He described the talk of a return to war as psychological warfare following two years of what he calls genocide in Gaza, which resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and widespread destruction without achieving the stated goal of breaking Palestinian resistance.
Qassem called for sanctions against Israel and welcomed a joint condemnation by 20 countries of recent Israeli measures aimed at tightening control over the occupied West Bank.
Regarding governance in Gaza, Qassem said Hamas had agreed from the outset to the formation of a Gaza administrative committee and expressed readiness to transfer governing responsibilities to it in coordination with Palestinian factions and under oversight by civil society figures and international parties.
He blamed delays on what he described as Israeli obstruction and a lack of political and financial support from guarantor states.
Responding to statements by the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister about readiness to assume control of Gaza, Qassem accused the Authority of limiting itself to media statements without practical steps, and of previously missing opportunities to form a unity government or joint transitional mechanisms.
He said the ultimate goal should be a unified Palestinian political system based on democratic foundations.
In a separate comment, Qassem criticized remarks by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, calling them a “scandal” for US foreign policy, particularly regarding justification of the war on Gaza and references to Israel’s claims over Palestinian land.
He said such positions affect broader Arab national security and urged a unified Arab stance to counter what he described as Israeli recklessness.
Qassem concluded by saying that threats and pressure would not force Hamas to abandon what it considers Palestinian national rights, and called on mediators and international actors to ensure the ceasefire holds and prevent a return to confrontation.