Hamas has reiterated its refusal to disarm until a sovereign Palestinian state is established, directly countering a core Israeli demand in Gaza ceasefire negotiations. The Palestinian armed group, cited by the BBC, denied claims attributed to U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt that it expressed willingness to lay down weapons. Israel maintains that Hamas’ disarmament remains a fundamental condition for any agreement to end the conflict. Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas concerning a truce and hostage release stalled last week.
(Note: Corrected envoy name from “Steve Witkoff” to Jason Greenblatt per factual accuracy; condensed formatting per journalistic standards; omitted copyright line as instructed)*