HAMAS REJECTS REPORTED DEADLINE TO HAND OVER WEAPONS IN GAZA

Tue 17 February 2026:

Hamas has announced its complete rejection of the deadline indicated by Israeli media, which gives Hamas 60 days to surrender all its weapons, including individual weapons.

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told Al Jazeera on Monday that the group had not been formally informed of any such decision. He said the statements attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli media were “mere threats with no basis in the ongoing negotiations”.

Mardawi added that Israeli occupation policies in the West Bank and Jerusalem amount to what he described as a religious war, not just a military occupation. He referred to control over religious sites such as Rachel’s Tomb and the Ibrahimi Mosque, as well as what he called displacement and annexation measures aimed at changing the character of Jerusalem.

He said these actions were intended to push Palestinians to leave their land, but would not succeed. According to Mardawi, Palestinians would remain steadfast despite the blockade and ongoing violence in Gaza and the West Bank.

Responding to reported threats of force after the end of the alleged deadline, Mardawi warned that any such move would have serious consequences for the wider region. He added that the Palestinian people “will not raise the white flag”.

Mardawi explained that the policy aims to expel Palestinians to neighbouring countries like Jordan, but it will not succeed because Palestinians are steadfast in their land, neighbourhoods, and villages, and they will continue to persevere and defend their holy sites.

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Earlier this month, Hamas’s political leader abroad, Khaled Meshaal, rejected calls to disarm Palestinian factions in Gaza, arguing that stripping weapons from an occupied people would turn them into “an easy victim to be eliminated”.

Israeli genocide in Gaza since October 2023 has killed more than 72,000 people, including thousands of children.

Israel’s assaults have continued despite a US-brokered “ceasefire” that began in October, with more than 600 Palestinians killed since it took effect. According to authorities in Gaza, Israel has violated the “ceasefire” 1,520 times.

In addition to the near-daily killing of Palestinians, Israel also severely restricts quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies, shelter materials and prefabricated houses entering Gaza, where some two million Palestinians – including 1.5 million displaced – live in catastrophic conditions.

Source: Independent Press and News Agencies

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