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11:08 05.10.2025 •
The Hamas military wing is reportedly not on board with the political leadership’s strategy.
Photo: EPA-EFE
A rift between Hamas’ political leadership and its armed wing in Gaza could complicate the execution of President Trump’s peace plan that would end the ongoing war with Israel, according to a report, ‘The New York Post’ reports.
The Palestinian terrorist organization’s diplomatic arm released a statement on Friday saying that it tentatively agreed to free Israeli hostages in accordance with Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza — though it sought further talks on key sticking points.
But wide swaths of the faction remain opposed to two key demands in the Trump peace plan — disarmament and the release of nearly 50 Israeli hostages — both living and the remains of those killed — within 72 hours.
Arab mediators told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that there is a clear division between Hamas negotiators that are based outside of Gaza and the group’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
While the negotiators are inclined to accept the Trump plan with reservations, the group’s militant wing remains adamantly opposed to surrendering its weapons and freeing hostages, the Journal reported.
Hamas would only consider freeing hostages if there was a clear-cut pledge from Israel to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip, the report stated.
Even if the Hamas leadership found consensus over the disarmament issue, there’s no guarantee that they could enforce compliance among rank-and-file membership if there is a widespread perception that the group has signed on to what is effectively a surrender, according to the Journal.
Hamas’ statement on Friday welcoming Trump’s peace plan was deliberately vague and ambiguous as it left the group wiggle room to back out if certain conditions weren’t met.
Analysts told the Journal the statement may be a bid for time as Hamas tries to reconcile long-running rifts between its political and military wings.
The war began when Hamas carried out deadly attacks in southern Israel and abducted roughly 250 people nearly two years ago.
On the ground, Hamas is degraded but fighting on. The armed wing has lost most senior leaders and thousands of experienced fighters, the Journal reported.
Newer recruits lack training, and Israel’s tightened control over Gaza has strained Hamas’s communications and coordination.
To adapt, Hamas devolved command to smaller units that act independently, Arab mediators and Israeli military officials said.
Hamas’ top military leader in Gaza wants the terror group to reject President Trump’s cease-fire proposal, urging negotiators to walk away from the deal, according to a new report.
Ezz al-Din al-Hadad, Hamas’ top military chief in Gaza, has reported rejected President Trump’s cease-fire proposal. Al-Hadad vowed to keep the war with Israel going as widespread destruction continues in Gaza.
Photo: Reuters
Ezz al-Din al-Hadad, who helped plan the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, slammed Trump’s 20-point peace deal as a way to eliminate Hamas without achieving any of its goals, the BBC reported.
Al-Hadad’s position is the strongest rebuke from the terror group so far after Trump presented his framework for a peace deal and demanded Hamas accept it by the end of the week.
As Hamas’ delegation reviews the terms, it has emerged that some of its political leaders were open to accepting the deal — so long as adjustments were made to fulfill the terror group’s goal of an independent Palestine.
Al-Hadad, who is known as the “Ghost of al-Qassam,” was named Hamas’ top chief in Gaza after Israel eliminated his two predecessors, Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and then his brother Mohammed Sinwar.
Al-Hadad and his militant allies are believed to hold the most weight in the negotiations given that they hold the 48 hostages inside Gaza.
Trump’s plan calls for an immediate cease-fire, an exchange of all the 48 hostages, a staged withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of a transitional government spearheaded by an international body.
The deal has also been complicated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest comments on social media, where he insisted that his military will remain in parts of Gaza and establish a security zone that would “forcibly resist” any Palestinian state.
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