DaysofPal- Senior Hamas official Husam Badran said on Sunday that the movement has fully complied with all commitments required in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, accusing the Israeli occupation of obstructing progress toward the next stage through baseless pretexts.
Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said the Palestinian side carried out every obligation under the initial phase, including full cooperation regarding the exchange of remains. He noted that the resistance retains only two bodies, one belonging to an Israeli soldier and another to a non-Israeli.
According to Badran, the Israeli occupation has failed to meet its own obligations, including reopening the Rafah crossing as stipulated in the deal, halting attacks across the Gaza Strip, and allowing agreed-upon levels of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
He said Israeli forces continued airstrikes, killings, and widespread demolitions despite the ceasefire.
“Before we even talk about phase two, the international community, especially the United States, must compel the Israeli occupation to implement what it signed. Without that, all phases remain ink on paper,” Badran said.
Addressing the situation of fighters trapped in Rafah, Badran revealed that the Israeli occupation had previously floated proposals through mediators calling for Hamas fighters to raise white flags, surrender their weapons, and withdraw in exchange for safe passage. He said Hamas rejected these suggestions outright.
“This is an impossible option. Our fighters will never accept surrender,” he said, adding that the Israeli occupation was seeking “a manufactured image of victory” that it has been unable to achieve after nearly two years of war.
He said recent Israeli attacks in Rafah led to the deaths of several fighters who had held out “with extraordinary resilience for months,” describing their stance as “a symbol of dignity and steadfastness.”
Badran warned that if the Israeli occupation continues to violate agreements and escalate its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, “the region will face further instability,” stressing that global consensus, including in Washington, increasingly recognizes the need to end the war.
“If the world wants regional stability, it must act immediately to stop the genocide against our people. All options remain open for Palestinians if the international community continues to look away,” he said.
Responding to reports of international plans to deploy foreign forces in Gaza to disarm resistance factions, Badran said Palestinian groups discussed the issue in Cairo and agreed that any such force must be strictly limited to monitoring the ceasefire and separating forces, not disarming Palestinians.
Badran also warned of intensifying Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank, saying the region has faced continuous aggression for years, with violence escalating further during the Gaza war.
He pointed to recent Israeli operations in the northern West Bank, particularly in Tubas, saying they followed similar raids in Tulkarm, Jenin, Nablus, and other areas.
“What is happening in the West Bank proves what we keep telling the world: this is the story of a people living under occupation,” he said.
“The Israeli occupation claims that October 7 and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood are the reason for all this brutality, but that is false. The West Bank did not participate in October 7, yet the occupation continues its killings, land seizures, and fragmentation of Palestinian towns.” He added.
Badran called for unified Palestinian action to confront these challenges, saying Hamas maintains daily contact with other factions to strengthen resilience in the West Bank and develop mechanisms to protect communities from settler attacks.
He confirmed that Hamas is not in a state of rupture with the Palestinian Authority, saying he recently held detailed discussions in Cairo with senior PA officials Hussein al-Sheikh and Majed Faraj.
“There is a degree of consensus, but the challenge lies in how we coordinate practical steps to confront what our people are facing,” Badran said.
He added that Hamas is committed to reaching at least a basic level of unity with Fatah and the PA, given their central role in Palestinian national politics.
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