'We will not accept any foreign control or disarmament,' says senior Hamas official

Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Thursday that the Palestinian group "will not accept any foreign control" over the post-war governance of the Gaza Strip.

"The administration of Gaza will be conducted as part of a Palestinian national consensus and will be discussed during the second phase of the agreement. We will not accept any foreign tutelage. It is time to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," the Hamas representative in Lebanon stated in an interview with Al Jazeera, on the sidelines of cease-fire negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Hamdan emphasized that "the Palestinian factions have submitted a list of 40 names to oversee the management of the Gaza Strip," reiterating that this was a "national issue." His remarks come as foreign figures, such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have been mentioned as possible leaders of a prospective international administration of the enclave.

In detail:

Barghouti not included in hostage exchange, Israel to retain majority control of Gaza after first stage

The Hamas official also rejected any idea of disarmament. "No Palestinian will agree to lay down their arms. Palestinians need resistance," he insisted. He said that "the ball is now in the court of the Israeli government," which met Thursday evening in Tel Aviv, warning that "the occupation will be held accountable if it reneges on the cease-fire agreement."

Hamdan also asserted that there would be "no forced displacement" of Gaza's residents and that "Palestinians will not leave their land." He said that mediators had agreed to an increase in humanitarian aid to "about 600 trucks per day," specifying that "aid entry procedures will begin tomorrow." "The coming days will be a real test of the occupation's credibility," he added.

In another interview with Al Araby, Hamdan opposed the "peace committee" proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to oversee a transition in Gaza. "No Palestinian could accept it. All factions, including the Palestinian Authority, reject this [the committee]," he said. "No one wants to return to the era of mandates and colonialism," Hamdan added, notably referring to the period of the British Mandate in Palestine.

This committee, composed of local and international technocrats, would be tasked with temporarily administering the Gaza Strip before transferring power to a reformed Palestinian Authority. But the Authority's vice president, Hussein al-Sheikh, said Thursday on X that it had "already completed all necessary preparations to administer Gaza and oversee its reconstruction."

The big picture:

'Today we celebrate. But what about tomorrow?': Gazans worry about second phase of cease-fire

Earlier in the day, Donald Trump announced that both sides had agreed to the first phase of his plan to end the war in Gaza. That phase provides for the release of all hostages, living or dead, still held by Hamas and other Palestinian factions, in exchange for a set number of Palestinian prisoners. According to Hamdan, the agreement includes the release of "250 serving life sentences and 1,700 prisoners from Gaza," whose names appear on a pre-established list.