Hamas prepares for second phase of negotiations despite Israel’s violations

The following statement from Hamas’ spokesperson in Gaza, Hazem Qassem, in an interview to Quds News Network, was posted by Resistance News Network on Oct. 18, 2025.

Hamas handed over the living captives in a single batch, while the available bodies were delivered directly. The movement continues to exert great and continuous efforts to ensure the full closure of the exchange process. We affirm that communication with mediators is ongoing to explain the details of the difficulties related to recovering the bodies, and there is an understanding from the mediators in this regard.

Regarding ceasefire violations: The occupation is manipulating the issue of handing over the bodies of Palestinian martyrs, as Palestinian bodies are delivered that do not match the requested names. This is in addition to the continuation of aerial sorties over the skies of the Gaza Strip in an attempt to terrorize citizens.

The continued presence of the occupation in the Gaza Strip is no different from its general behavior of seizing Arab lands in Gaza, the West Bank, Al-Quds [Jerusalem], Lebanon, and southern Syria. There is always a persistent desire by the occupation to expand its control over Arab land, and the issue of Gaza falls within this larger colonial context. 

This “israeli” behavior gives the Palestinian people the full legitimate right to resist the occupation on the lands of the Gaza Strip. As long as the occupation seeks to expand on any Arab land, it must bear the consequences of any act of resistance that comes as a price for this presence.

The negotiations confirm that the “israeli” presence is temporary as stated in the agreement. We will continue to monitor this matter with the mediators and the guarantor states of the agreement, in parallel with upholding our legitimate right to resist the “israeli” presence on Palestinian land in the ways we deem appropriate.

The level of aid that has entered the Gaza Strip is less than what was agreed upon, and what has entered is not sufficient for a country suffering from all forms of famine. The occupation continues to use blackmail to restrict the entry of aid and what is required is a significant expansion of the aid corridor.

Regarding the start date for the initial reconstruction process: Relief operations should have begun ever since the end of the first phase of the agreement, which is supposed to be complete. Hamas has handed over all its living captives and the bodies it was able to deliver. The reconstruction process was supposed to begin immediately after the successful completion of the first phase, but the delay so far has been deliberate on the part of the occupation.

The United States is one of the main parties in the mediation and is the key party to ensure the implementation of the agreement. There is continuous communication with the U.S. administration through mediators and diplomatic channels to ensure the application of what was agreed upon. Turkey has recently played a clear role in mediation and in guaranteeing the agreement, and we see it having an important future role in the sustainability of the peace process in Gaza.

Regarding executions by resistance security forces in Gaza 

The executions are part of the legal procedures against those who committed the crime of high treason. These actions have received clear support from all Palestinian factions, which have issued statements of support. Community organizations have also shown their support for imposing law and order on these criminal terrorist gangs. All Palestinian clans have supported these measures and condemned the behavior of some of their members. 

Leaders from the Fatah movement in Gaza have expressed their support for the security services’ actions, given that the state of lawlessness and chaos affects everyone without exception. Lawlessness, chaos, and the presence of criminal gangs have not targeted the Hamas movement alone, but the entire Palestinian people.

The [Palestinian] Authority seems to desire the continuation of the state of lawlessness in Gaza, thinking it will achieve political gains. This is an opportunistic behavior outside the Palestinian consensus, as the Authority has not cared about the situation in Gaza for the past two years, has remained a spectator, and hoped to achieve political gains from the war. When it failed to do so, it criticized the governmental procedures in Gaza. We call on the Palestinian Authority to cease this behavior and join the national efforts to protect social peace in the Gaza Strip from disaster.

Hamas clearly affirms that it does not wish to participate in any administrative arrangements related to the governance of the Gaza Strip on the day after the cessation of aggression. It has agreed to the formation of a Community Support Committee to assume governance in Gaza. 

We call for the speedy formation of the Community Support Committee until a Gaza administration committee is formed. We affirm that the governmental bodies in Gaza are continuing their duties because a vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee agreed upon by all Palestinian factions is established.

Discussions are underway with mediators to arrange the entry into the second phase of negotiations, which is considered a complex stage and requires a national consensus. We have begun steps to formulate a national position on these important issues.