BEIRUT, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Osama Hamdan, a senior leader of the Hamas Movement, affirmed the Movement’s cohesion and its ability to continue defending the Palestinian people and their national rights, denying the existence of any internal disagreements regarding the decision of October 7 operation.
In a press statement on Sunday evening, Hamdan said the next phase will demonstrate the strength and resilience of Hamas’s organizational structure, stressing that “there is not a single leader within Hamas who opposes the October 7 decision, neither privately nor publicly.” He described claims of internal disagreements on this issue as “pure fabrication that serves the Israeli occupation’s narrative.”
Hamdan explained that the decision of resistance is not exclusive to Hamas, but rather a deeply rooted Palestinian popular choice that predates the Movement and will continue beyond it. He emphasized that the Palestinian people have been resisting for nearly a century, and that attempts to link Israeli crimes to Palestinian resistance are part of occupation propaganda aimed at promoting submission and surrender.
He added that the occupation does not distinguish between Palestinian factions in its aggression, but treats all Palestinians as enemies, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, pointing out that all settlement agreements have failed to protect Palestinians from land confiscation, Judaization, and killing.
Regarding the ceasefire agreement, Hamdan said Israel continues to violate it on a daily basis, resulting in the killing of more than 400 Palestinians since it came into effect, most of them women and children. He also cited the continued blocking of medical and humanitarian aid and the obstruction of infrastructure rehabilitation.
He affirmed that Hamas retains its full right to respond to these violations, warning that the collapse of the agreement would undermine the credibility of any future international guarantees, not only for Palestinians but globally.
Hamdan noted that Hamas is maintaining ongoing contacts with mediators in Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye to launch negotiations for the second phase of the agreement but Israel remains intent on sabotaging the entire process. He called on the United States to assume its responsibilities as a guarantor.
On proposals to deploy an international force in Gaza, Hamdan said Palestinian factions would only accept a force whose role is limited to ensuring a ceasefire and preventing a return to aggression, stationed at Gaza’s borders without internal authority, civilian contact, or interference with the resistance’s weapons.
He warned that any force seeking to disarm the resistance by force would be treated as an occupying force, reiterating the Palestinian people’s rejection of any alternative or proxy occupation.
Commenting on the killing of Qassam Brigades commander Raed Saad, Hamdan said the martyr devoted his life to the Palestinian cause and the defense of land and people, emphasizing that his death does not reflect weakness or decline, but rather the continuation of a path carried forward by generations raised in the same school.
Hamdan reiterated that Hamas abides by the agreements it signs but will not accept continued Israeli violations without response.
On internal Palestinian affairs, he stressed the existence of broad national will to end division and achieve unity, noting that Israel is the only party opposing unity because it recognizes it as a barrier to its colonial project.
He pointed to recent efforts in Cairo, supported by Egypt, to bring Palestinian factions together, affirming that Hamas continues to extend its hand to all forces, including Fatah, on the basis of a shared national program.
Regarding the international repercussions of Israeli crimes, Hamdan called on Jews around the world to clearly state that Israel does not represent them, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading a “Nazi terrorist project,” holding the international community responsible for its silence in the face of the genocide being committed in Gaza.
