According to a report by BBC on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza have encountered new resistance after the head of Hamas’s military wing indicated he would not accept the U.S.-backed framework to end the conflict.
According to mediators familiar with ongoing discussions, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the senior Hamas military commander inside Gaza, has rejected President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, viewing it as a direct attempt designed to finish Hamas. Al-Haddad is said to believe that the deal would leave Hamas with no future political or military role, regardless of whether the group agrees to its terms.
The plan, which Israel has already endorsed in principle, calls for Hamas to disarm, release all hostages within the first 72 hours of a ceasefire, and hand over authority in Gaza to an interim administration of Palestinian technocrats with international oversight. In exchange, Israel would eventually withdraw its forces, humanitarian aid would be allowed into the enclave, and discussions on a pathway to Palestinian statehood would begin.
However, Hamas military leaders argue that the requirement to release hostages at the outset strips them of their only leverage. Current estimates suggest that 48 hostages remain in Gaza, though only about 20 are believed to be alive. Some members of Hamas’s political bureau in Qatar have reportedly expressed willingness to negotiate adjustments to the plan, but their influence is limited since they do not control the hostages.
Trust issues also remain a central obstacle. Even with Washington’s guarantees, Hamas leaders fear Israel would resume military operations once the hostages are freed, pointing to last month’s reported Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas officials in Doha as evidence of bad faith.
Another point of contention is the proposed deployment of a temporary “International Stabilisation Force” led by U.S. and Arab states to secure Gaza. Hamas views this as a potential foreign occupation under another name. Maps circulated by the Trump administration have also fueled concern, showing “security buffer zones” along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt zones that Hamas fears would remain under Israeli control.
Complicating matters further, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already appeared to distance himself from parts of the U.S. proposal. In a recent video message, he said Israel would continue to maintain a military presence in sections of Gaza and vowed to “resist” the creation of a Palestinian state, directly contradicting the U.S. framework.
Hamas has consistently maintained that it will not agree to disarm until an independent Palestinian state is recognized. Meanwhile, the human toll of the war continues to mount. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 66,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the conflict erupted following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, which left about 1,200 Israelis dead and over 250 taken hostage. See, More, Here>>>
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