Hamas Military Leader Rejects US Ceasefire Proposal Amid Ongoing Conflict

Sun Oct 12 2025 00:03:30 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’s military wing, firmly objects to the new US ceasefire plan, seeing it as a threat to the existence of the group. Negotiations continue amid a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The military leader of Hamas in Gaza has voiced strong opposition to a proposed US ceasefire plan that demands the disarmament of the group. Izz al-Din al-Haddad believes the plan is strategically designed to eliminate Hamas. Negotiations are hampered by distrust and the ongoing Israeli military operations, leading to a complex and dangerous situation for the region's populace.

The BBC understands that mediators have made contact with the head of Hamas's military wing in Gaza, who indicated he does not agree to a new US ceasefire plan.

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 remaining hostages, 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 in 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 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 also 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.

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. 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 a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 others being 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.