In a recent declaration that directly opposes President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal proclaimed, "the resistance and its weapons are our honor and glory," and that "the battle is not over.
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He further celebrated the October 7 "Al-Aqsa Flood" massacre as a pivotal moment in the struggle to reclaim "our homeland" from Israel and to remove it from the international stage.
Addressing the "Pledge to Jerusalem" conference in Istanbul via video, Mashal, the head of Hamas abroad, outlined a rigid roadmap that categorically rejects the key elements of President Trump's peace plan. These elements include disarmament, an international stabilization force, and the removal of Hamas from power.
This comes even as the terrorist group is seemingly moving towards the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire it ostensibly accepted two months ago.
Mashal assured his supporters that while the most severe phase of what he termed a "genocidal war" in Gaza has ended, the conflict with Israel persists. He called upon the wider Islamic "ummah" to commit to "the liberation of Jerusalem as the banner and symbol of freeing Palestine." This includes the "cleansing" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the "reclaiming" of Islamic and Christian holy sites. He portrayed Gaza as the vanguard that initiated the "Al-Aqsa Flood" massacre in 2023, which he claimed "turned into the pride of the nation and the conscience of nations."
As reported by Breitbart, Mashal explicitly rejected any "guardianship, mandate and re-occupation" over Gaza, the West Bank, or "all of Palestine." He insisted that Palestinians "need protection, not guardians" and that "the Palestinian is the one who governs himself and decides for himself." He clarified that this extends to the Trump-backed International Stabilization Force (ISF) and the Board of Peace, which are supposed to oversee demilitarization and reconstruction in the second phase of the deal.
Mashal was adamant in his refusal to disarm Hamas. "The resistance project and its weapons must be protected. It is the right of our people to defend themselves," he stated. He further added that "the resistance and its weapons are the honor and strength of the nation," and dismissively remarked that "a thousand statements are not worth a single projectile of iron."
He assured his supporters that Gaza, which he referred to as "mighty," would eventually "drive out invaders." He presented the current moment as an "opportunity" to "remove this entity [Israel] from our homeland and exclude it from the international stage."
Israel's Foreign Ministry swiftly posted a video of Mashal's address, warning that Hamas was "making a mockery of President Trump's peace plan." They emphasized that the terror chief had publicly declared that Hamas has "no intention of disarming, giving up its weapons, its rule, or its path." The ministry added that Mashal "rejected any form of external oversight in Gaza including the idea of an international force," labeling his speech "a direct contradiction of the core terms of the peace plan itself."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar echoed the ministry's warning, highlighting that Hamas's top external leader was repudiating precisely the conditions that allowed the ceasefire and hostage-release framework to move forward.
HonestReporting, a media watchdog that monitors coverage of Israel, noted that not a single major Western news outlet reported the speech, even though it amounted to what one researcher called a "strategic declaration" of Hamas's real intentions.
Idit Bar, a researcher of the Arab and Islamic world cited by the organization, said Mashal had "put all the cards on the table: no to disarmament, no to relinquishing Hamas rule, yes to the annihilation of Israel, yes to the liberation of Jerusalem."
Mashal's speech also set out other priorities, including preventing what he called the "Judaization" of Judea and Samaria and building Arab unity against Israel. He further called for "pursuing" Israeli leaders in international forums and stepping up campaigns against Israel on campuses, in media, and in politics.
Mashal's comments came just one day before markedly different messaging from another senior Hamas figure and underlined the internal contradictions now playing out as the movement tries to navigate Trump's deal.
On Sunday, Bassem Naim, another member of Hamass political bureau, told the Associated Press in Doha that the group was "very open minded" to a "comprehensive approach" that might include "freezing or storing" its weapons for five to ten years as part of a long-term truce aimed at eventually establishing a Palestinian state.
The new ceasefire framework based on Trumps 20-point plan endorsed by the U.N. Security Council envisions exactly what Mashal rejected: an International Stabilization Force to take over territory from the IDF, a technocratic Palestinian committee to run Gazas civil affairs, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, and the full disarmament and decommissioning of Hamass arsenal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has signaled that while he is prepared to "give an international force a chance," he does not believe the ISF will be capable of handling the most difficult tasks in Gaza on its own.
On Sunday, Netanyahu told reporters at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that the second phase of Trumps plan was "close," and said he would meet President Trump later this month to discuss how to complete Hamass disarmament, deploy the multinational force, and bring an end to Hamas rule in Gaza.
Taken together, Mashals Istanbul address and Naims Doha comments show that Hamass leadership continues to frame its strategy around "armed resistance" and a long struggle, even as some officials test language about "freezing or storing" weapons over a multi-year truce.
At the same time, international diplomacy is now converging on Phase Two, with Trump, Netanyahu, and Arab and European leaders debating how much the plan can realistically achieve if senior Hamas leaders abroad are openly rejecting its disarmament and international-oversight provisions.
While Mashal told supporters that "the battle is not over" and that weapons remain "our honor and glory," Israels prime minister is preparing to sit down with the U.S. President to try to turn Hamass arsenal into the centerpiece of Gazas next disarmament phase.
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