Rushdi AbualoufGaza correspondent, Istanbul
Mediators have made contact with the head of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, who has indicated he does not agree to the new US ceasefire plan, the BBC understands.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad is thought to believe the plan was designed to finish Hamas, whether the group accepts it or not, and so is determined to fight on.
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point framework to end the war – which has already been accepted by Israel – stipulates that Hamas disarm and have no future role in governing Gaza.
It is thought that some of Hamas’s political leadership in Qatar are open to accepting it with adjustments – but have found their influence limited as they do not have control of the hostages held by the group.
There are believed to be 48 hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory by the armed group, only 20 of whom are thought to be alive.
Another stumbling block for some in Hamas is that the plan requires them to hand over all of the hostages over the first 72 hours of the ceasefire – giving away their only bargaining chip.
Even with Trump’s guarantee that Israel would abide by the terms, there is a lack of trust within the group that Israel would not resume its military operations once it had received the hostages – particularly after it attempted to assassinate the Hamas leadership in Doha in an air strike last month, in defiance of the US.
Some Hamas leaders are also thought to object to the deployment by the US and Arab states of what the plan describes as “a temporary International Stabilisation Force” to Gaza, which they view as a new form of occupation.
Additionally, a map of the proposed phased Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza shared by the Trump administration shows what it refers to as a “security buffer zone” along Gaza’s borders with Egypt and Israel.
It is unclear how this would be administered, but if Israel is involved it is also likely to be a point of contention.
Further, since agreeing to the plan on Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared to push back on several of the terms.
In a video shared on X, he insisted that the Israeli military would be able to remain in parts of Gaza and that Israel said it would “forcibly resist” a Palestinian state.
This goes against the terms of the US framework, which stipulates that Israeli forces would withdraw completely “save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat”.
It also says that once the plan is complete there may be a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”.
Hamas has previously said it would not disarm until a sovereign Palestinian state is established.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 66,225 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
