Abu Obeida says calling for the group\u2019s disarmament amounts to an attempt to continue Israel\u2019s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Published On 5 Apr 2026<\/span>5 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida has said that calling for the group\u2019s disarmament amounted to an attempt to continue Israel\u2019s genocide.<\/p>\n Hamas\u2019s armed wing has rejected calls for the Palestinian group to disarm, saying that discussing the issue before Israel fully implements the first phase of the United States-brokered \u201cceasefire\u201d in Israel\u2019s war on Gaza amounts to an attempt to continue the genocide against the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n In a televised statement on Sunday, Obeida, who is Hamas\u2019s armed wing spokesperson, said that raising the issue of weapons \u201cin a crude manner\u201d would not be accepted.<\/p>\n The issue of Hamas relinquishing its weapons is a major obstacle in talks to implement US President Donald Trump\u2019s 20-point plan for Gaza, aimed at ending Israel\u2019s war on the besieged territory.<\/p>\n Since the US- and Qatar-brokered \u201cceasefire\u201d took effect in October, more than 705 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.<\/p>\n Hamas has told mediators it will not discuss disarmament without guarantees that Israel will completely withdraw from Gaza, three sources told the Reuters news agency last week.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the enemy is trying to push through today against the Palestinian resistance, via our brotherly mediators, is extremely dangerous,\u201d Obeida said.<\/p>\n He said the disarmament demands were \u201cnothing but an overt attempt to continue the genocide against our people, something we will not accept under any circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear whether the comments amounted to a formal rejection of the US-backed plan, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza, which began after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and injured at least 172,000 others.<\/p>\n Obeida urged mediators to pressure Israel to fulfil its commitments under the first phase of the Trump plan before any discussion of the second phase can take place.<\/p>\n \u201cThe enemy is the one who undermines the agreement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There was no immediate comment from Israel on his remarks.<\/p>\n Obeida also addressed Israel\u2019s role in the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>, condemning it for launching strikes on Iran \u201cin the midst of the deception of negotiations, with full collusion and conspiracy with the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n The US had been involved in talks with Iran over its nuclear programme in the weeks before the US and Israel launched the war on February 28.<\/p>\n In Iran, more than 2,000 people have been killed and at least 26,500 others injured since the war began.<\/p>\n Obeida also condemned Israel\u2019s renewed offensive \u201cagainst sisterly Lebanon\u201d, which it launched on March 2 after the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s assault on Lebanon has killed more than 1,400 people and displaced over 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.<\/p>\n Obeida commended Iran, Hezbollah and Yemen\u2019s Houthis for their continued strikes against Israel.<\/p>\n Hamas\u2019s spokesman also condemned the Israeli parliament\u2019s passage of a new death penalty law<\/a> that only applies to Palestinians, urging people in the West Bank \u201cto seek, by every possible means, to liberate the [Palestinian] prisoners\u201d held in Israeli jails.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&quality=80)
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