‘Guarantee of our people’s rights’: Hamas demands ‘total halt of aggression’ before any political path for Gaza
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Guarantee of our people’s rights’: Hamas demands ‘total halt of aggression’ before any political path for Gaza")
Palestinians walk next to shelters amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City, on February 16, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Hamas said any political plan for Gaza’s future must begin with a total halt to aggression, lifting of the blockade, and guarantees of Palestinians’ national rights, including freedom and self-determination.
As discussions on Gaza’s future move ahead after US President Donald Trump inaugurated his Board of Peace, Palestinian militant group Hamas said that any political arrangement concerning the territory must begin with a “total halt of aggression”. It also demanded the guarantee of the rights of Palestinians in a statement late Thursday (Feb 19).
“Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people’s legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination,” Hamas said in the statement.
Despite over four months of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s health ministry has said that at least 601 people have been killed by the Israeli forces since the truce came into effect.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump’s board met for the first time in Washington, with several nations pledging money and personnel to rebuild Gaza.
Speaking at the meeting, the US president said, “We will help Gaza. We will straighten it out. We'll make it successful.”
“We will make it peaceful, and we will do things like that in other spots. Spots will come up, things will happen,” he added. “Together we can achieve the dream of bringing lasting harmony to a region tortured by centuries of war, suffering.”
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Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins in the territory.
“We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarisation of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, representing Israel at the Board of Peace meeting, demanded disarmament of Hamas and “a fundamental deradicalisation process” in Gaza.
