Hamas Denies Reports That Say They Are Ready To Lay Down Weapons

Hamas group. (Hassan Alzaanin/TASS)

JAKARTA - Senior militant group official Hamas Mahmoud Mardiwi, denied media reports that his group allegedly agreed to lay down arms under US President Donald Trump's plans to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

"Mahmoud Mardiwi has denied the false accusations made by the television channel Al Hadath and other media regarding the progress of the ceasefire negotiations (Gaza) and Hamas' position regarding the issue of arms surrender," Hamas said on its Telegram channel, launching TASS October 6.

"These accusations are completely baseless and made to discredit (Hamas) positions and mislead the public," he continued.

Previously, Al Hadath television channel, citing a Hamas source, said it was ready for the Palestinian militant group to be ready to release all Israeli hostages who were still alive in one day.

However, according to the source, Hamas needed more time to hand over the bodies of the hostages. The United States is ready to "show flexibility" in this regard, the source claims.

In addition, according to Al Hadath, senior Hamas officials will be able to leave Gaza if they wish with Washington guarantees it will not be the target of assassination attempts.

The television channel source also said Hamas had agreed to hand over weapons to special agencies formed from Egyptian and Palestinian forces under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Hamas group "interested that Gaza's plans" offered by US President Donald Trump "as soon as possible," the source said.

However, Israel, according to him, tried to "block" the implementation of Trump's initiative and refused to stop bombings in the enclave.

The White House on September 29 announced the US President's "comprehensive plan" to resolve the Gaza conflict, which consists of 20 points. The proposal includes temporary external administration for the enclave and deployment of international stabilization troops. Israel has expressed its support for the plan.

On October 3, Hamas submitted its response to Trump's proposal to the mediator. Hamas expressed his readiness to release all the surviving Israeli hostages detained in the envelope and handed over his body.

They also affirmed their willingness to hand over the responsibility of Gaza management to Palestinian bodies consisting of independent technocrat politicians. However, Hamas noted that the remaining points of Trump's plans regarding the future of Gaza must be discussed in a "comprehensive Palestinian national framework."

The plan is that a new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas will take place in Egypt today.