Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou told Qatari-backed Al Araby Al Jadeed on Saturday that Hamas was not interested in ruling Gaza after the war, in direct contradiction to comments made by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
"We are not interested in being part of it (the Gaza administration), and that is why we agreed to form a community support committee in Gaza that does not include [Hamas]. We have no ambition to govern Gaza. What concerns us is the national consensus, and we are committed to its outcomes."
Qanou's comments come as a rebuke to Witkoff's comments in which he suggested that Hamas was attempting to cling to power in the face of general opposition from the mediators in Qatar.
While Witkoff did rule out Hamas remaining in power, he did indicate that a disarmed and demilitarized Hamas could remain as a political actor within a broader reconstruction framework.
Witkoff said that such a framework would need to last at least 15 to 20 years and that previous assessments of a five-year reconstruction were unrealistic and had been made before Trump came to office.
Increased military pressure on Hamas
This comes immediately following the reopening of the Gaza front, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed was an attempt to exert increased military pressure on Hamas following their persistent intransigence on releasing hostages.
A few days earlier, Qanou had said that Hamas had adhered to the ceasefire agreement and that it was Israel that was breaking the ceasefire.
Earlier on Friday, a spokesperson for Fatah, Hamas' primary rival, made statements to the Saudi channel Al Arabiya calling for the organization to vacate the Gaza Strip to preserve Palestinian presence there.
Munzer al-Hayek, who is based in Gaza, said Hamas must "leave the government scene [in Gaza] and fully realize that the coming battle will be the end of the Palestinian presence [there]."
