How Hamas Is Navigating Trump’s Gaza Ultimatum
This is a lengthy but detailed article worth your time regarding the ongoing war in Gaza.
It will also be important that you read The Deception Game, which will be a separate posting.
In an exclusive interview, veteran Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal discusses strategy, red lines, and Israel’s attempt to assassinate Palestinian negotiators.
By Jeremy Scahill and Jawa Ahmad/Drop Site News
Senior Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal in an interview with Drop Site News on October 1, 2025.
Hamas officials are conducting an intense series of meetings with Palestinian factions and regional mediators to formulate the Palestinian response to the 20-point Gaza plan announced by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to respond to what is effectively an ultimatum, threatening the U.S. would empower Israel to indefinitely continue its war of annihilation on Gaza if Hamas did not agree to the plan wholesale. When asked if there is room for Hamas to negotiate the terms, Trump replied, “not much.”
“Trump is dealing with us as if we have to accept this plan based on the well-known English phrase: Take it or leave it. This is unacceptable in political practice. It cannot be a matter of either accepting or rejecting an agreement outright,” said Mohammad Nazzal, a veteran Hamas official and longtime member of its political bureau, in an interview with Drop Site. “This plan was formulated without the participation of Hamas or any Palestinian party, including the Palestinian Authority. So how can the U.S. administration reach an agreement with one side of the conflict while excluding the Palestinian side?”
“This plan is not Trump’s plan; it is an Israeli plan,” he added. “I say this with deep regret: the United States of America has come to act as an agent of the Zionist entity.”
Nonetheless, Nazzal—who has been a member of Hamas since 1989 and has served in its political bureau since 1996—said Hamas is carefully reviewing the document and would soon offer its official response. “We are approaching the plan with a high degree of responsibility,” he said. “We began studying it and holding consultations as soon as we received it.”
While Nazzal said some aspects of the proposal may be acceptable to Hamas and closely align with principles the group had previously agreed to, he described most of the terms as Israeli edicts. “Public opinion within the Palestinian factions is uncomfortable with the plan that was presented. There are some positives in the plan, but the negatives outweigh them,” he said. “Unless the plan is changed or significant modifications are made to certain points, I believe it will be difficult to accept it as it stands.”
As in previous “ceasefire” talks, Hamas negotiators plan to draft a series of proposed amendments and requests for more details on various terms outlined in the proposal. “It is clear that the plan is a broad and vague outline that, by its nature, requires negotiation. Every point mentioned in the plan needs a negotiation process. We do not want to proceed on the basis that what is presented in the plan represents a final, non-negotiable position,” Nazzal said. “Trump wants to impose what he wants through this plan. He was clear on the issues related to Israeli demands, but vague on the positions related to Palestinian demands.”
Within 72 hours of an agreement, the plan says, Hamas must release all Israeli captives held in Gaza. There are believed to be 20 living Israelis and the bodies of 28 deceased remaining in the Strip. Only after all captives are freed would Israel then release 250 Palestinians sentenced to life and 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza taken captive after October 7, 2023, including all women and children. In exchange for the remains of each deceased Israeli held in Gaza, Israel would return the bodies of 15 Palestinians, according to the plan.
Hamas is well aware that its only real leverage is the fact that it continues to hold Israelis in Gaza. “It is possible that this agreement will last only 72 hours, meaning they would take the Israeli captives and then not follow through with the rest of the agreement. There are no guarantees,” Nazzal said. “That’s why I believe that when we delve into the details of the plan, we must include guarantees that ensure the agreement is fully implemented and not cut short. There must be guarantees that the release of all captives in those initial hours will not allow the Americans and Israelis to walk away from fulfilling the rest of the deal.”
These concerns are well founded. Israel has repeatedly violated the terms of previous ceasefire agreements, including the January 2025 deal that was endorsed by both Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden. Israel conducted regular strikes inside Gaza during the first phase of the deal and then unilaterally abandoned the agreement entirely in March, imposed a sweeping blockade, and resumed its scorched earth bombing of Gaza.
The new Trump plan requires the “demilitarization of Gaza” and links the delivery of humanitarian aid and life essentials to a vague certification that areas of Gaza are demilitarized. “All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt,” it states. “There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning.”
Hamas has long maintained that it will not sign an agreement that would strip Palestinians of their right of armed resistance against Israeli occupation.
“The weapons that Hamas has are light weapons compared to what the Israelis have. The Zionist entity has a nuclear reactor and possesses a nuclear bomb. No one talks about disarming this Zionist entity, while there is talk about disarming the Palestinian resistance,” Nazzal said. “The discussion about disarming the resistance should come after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.” Hamas officials have previously told Drop Site that armed resistance factions would only disband as part of a process of integrating their fighters into a Palestinian national army capable of defending an independent state.
A fact that is seldom mentioned in the Western media around Trump’s Gaza plan is that on August 18 Hamas formally accepted the previous U.S.-Israeli ceasefire framework. In doing so, Hamas made major concessions on a range of issues. That deal would have included a 60-day initial ceasefire and the release of half of the remaining Israeli captives. Israel never responded to Hamas’s acceptance and instead launched a massive ground invasion of Gaza City and announced its intent to force a million Palestinians from their homes and shelters.
The last time Hamas negotiators convened to discuss a response to a U.S. offer was on September 9. Trump sent Hamas a 100-word summary of a purported ceasefire plan via regional mediators. As lead negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya and other senior officials gathered in Hamas’s offices in Doha to discuss it, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes intended to assassinate them. While Al-Hayya and the other leaders survived, Al-Hayya’s son and four Hamas office workers were killed and Al-Hayya’s wife, daughter-in-law and grandchildren were all wounded. A Qatari security officer was also killed.
Multiple Hamas sources told Drop Site that, following the attack, several senior Hamas leaders in Qatar, including Al-Hayya, were moved to secure locations and restrictions were placed on their use of phones and other electronic devices. Qatar, the sources said, told Hamas officials the measures were necessary because there was still an active threat against them. This severely impaired the ability of the movement’s leaders to communicate with each other and with resistance commanders on the ground in Gaza. “In the first three weeks following the assassination operation, there were exceptional security measures for the leaders who were targeted or expected to be targeted,” Nazzal said, adding that since Trump’s proposal was delivered to Hamas on Monday, its leaders have been able to more freely congregate. “Movement and communications began with Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish officials after we received Trump’s plan. That is why contacts have now resumed.”
In order for any ceasefire agreement Hamas signs to be valid, it would require the assent of the ground commanders from Qassam Brigades and Saraya al Quds, the armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in Gaza. Nazzal said that shortly before the attempted assassination strike in Qatar, Hamas’s leadership inside Gaza authorized its external negotiators to make decisions on the terms of a deal. “I don’t believe there is any issue in stances between the military and political leadership,” Nazzal said. “I believe the issue now centers on deciding a position regarding the plan proposed by Trump.”
Nazzal joined Hamas soon after the group’s founding in 1987 and has held various positions over the ensuing decades, including representing the movement in Jordan and Syria and serving on its international council. In October 1997, he was among the senior Hamas officials who appeared publicly in Amman with the group’s founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin after he was freed from an Israeli prison. Nazzal is an influential member of Hamas’s political bureau and was placed under sanctions by the U.S. government in 2024.
Whatever response Hamas submits to Trump would carry with it the endorsement of a range of Palestinian groups, Nazzal emphasized—not just those with armed resistance forces fighting in Gaza. “We believe this is a national issue that concerns the Palestinian people. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and some other factions are leading the military resistance against the occupation. However, there are many Palestinian parties that must be consulted,” he said. “We do not treat what is happening in the Gaza Strip as solely Hamas’s issue—rather, it concerns the entire Palestinian people. That is why we consult with all Palestinian factions to ensure that the position is a comprehensive and unified national stance.”
While most Palestinian parties and prominent political leaders have participated in these “national unity” consultations throughout the genocide, Fatah, the ruling political party of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has refused to participate. “We have continuously tried to extend a hand of cooperation and relationship,” said Nazzal. “Unfortunately, the position of the Palestinian Authority, specifically Abbas, has always been negative.”
It will also be important that you read The Deception Game, which will be a separate posting.
In an exclusive interview, veteran Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal discusses strategy, red lines, and Israel’s attempt to assassinate Palestinian negotiators.
By Jeremy Scahill and Jawa Ahmad/Drop Site News
Senior Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal in an interview with Drop Site News on October 1, 2025.
Hamas officials are conducting an intense series of meetings with Palestinian factions and regional mediators to formulate the Palestinian response to the 20-point Gaza plan announced by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to respond to what is effectively an ultimatum, threatening the U.S. would empower Israel to indefinitely continue its war of annihilation on Gaza if Hamas did not agree to the plan wholesale. When asked if there is room for Hamas to negotiate the terms, Trump replied, “not much.”
“Trump is dealing with us as if we have to accept this plan based on the well-known English phrase: Take it or leave it. This is unacceptable in political practice. It cannot be a matter of either accepting or rejecting an agreement outright,” said Mohammad Nazzal, a veteran Hamas official and longtime member of its political bureau, in an interview with Drop Site. “This plan was formulated without the participation of Hamas or any Palestinian party, including the Palestinian Authority. So how can the U.S. administration reach an agreement with one side of the conflict while excluding the Palestinian side?”
“This plan is not Trump’s plan; it is an Israeli plan,” he added. “I say this with deep regret: the United States of America has come to act as an agent of the Zionist entity.”
Nonetheless, Nazzal—who has been a member of Hamas since 1989 and has served in its political bureau since 1996—said Hamas is carefully reviewing the document and would soon offer its official response. “We are approaching the plan with a high degree of responsibility,” he said. “We began studying it and holding consultations as soon as we received it.”
While Nazzal said some aspects of the proposal may be acceptable to Hamas and closely align with principles the group had previously agreed to, he described most of the terms as Israeli edicts. “Public opinion within the Palestinian factions is uncomfortable with the plan that was presented. There are some positives in the plan, but the negatives outweigh them,” he said. “Unless the plan is changed or significant modifications are made to certain points, I believe it will be difficult to accept it as it stands.”
As in previous “ceasefire” talks, Hamas negotiators plan to draft a series of proposed amendments and requests for more details on various terms outlined in the proposal. “It is clear that the plan is a broad and vague outline that, by its nature, requires negotiation. Every point mentioned in the plan needs a negotiation process. We do not want to proceed on the basis that what is presented in the plan represents a final, non-negotiable position,” Nazzal said. “Trump wants to impose what he wants through this plan. He was clear on the issues related to Israeli demands, but vague on the positions related to Palestinian demands.”
Within 72 hours of an agreement, the plan says, Hamas must release all Israeli captives held in Gaza. There are believed to be 20 living Israelis and the bodies of 28 deceased remaining in the Strip. Only after all captives are freed would Israel then release 250 Palestinians sentenced to life and 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza taken captive after October 7, 2023, including all women and children. In exchange for the remains of each deceased Israeli held in Gaza, Israel would return the bodies of 15 Palestinians, according to the plan.
Hamas is well aware that its only real leverage is the fact that it continues to hold Israelis in Gaza. “It is possible that this agreement will last only 72 hours, meaning they would take the Israeli captives and then not follow through with the rest of the agreement. There are no guarantees,” Nazzal said. “That’s why I believe that when we delve into the details of the plan, we must include guarantees that ensure the agreement is fully implemented and not cut short. There must be guarantees that the release of all captives in those initial hours will not allow the Americans and Israelis to walk away from fulfilling the rest of the deal.”
These concerns are well founded. Israel has repeatedly violated the terms of previous ceasefire agreements, including the January 2025 deal that was endorsed by both Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden. Israel conducted regular strikes inside Gaza during the first phase of the deal and then unilaterally abandoned the agreement entirely in March, imposed a sweeping blockade, and resumed its scorched earth bombing of Gaza.
The new Trump plan requires the “demilitarization of Gaza” and links the delivery of humanitarian aid and life essentials to a vague certification that areas of Gaza are demilitarized. “All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt,” it states. “There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning.”
Hamas has long maintained that it will not sign an agreement that would strip Palestinians of their right of armed resistance against Israeli occupation.
“The weapons that Hamas has are light weapons compared to what the Israelis have. The Zionist entity has a nuclear reactor and possesses a nuclear bomb. No one talks about disarming this Zionist entity, while there is talk about disarming the Palestinian resistance,” Nazzal said. “The discussion about disarming the resistance should come after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.” Hamas officials have previously told Drop Site that armed resistance factions would only disband as part of a process of integrating their fighters into a Palestinian national army capable of defending an independent state.
A fact that is seldom mentioned in the Western media around Trump’s Gaza plan is that on August 18 Hamas formally accepted the previous U.S.-Israeli ceasefire framework. In doing so, Hamas made major concessions on a range of issues. That deal would have included a 60-day initial ceasefire and the release of half of the remaining Israeli captives. Israel never responded to Hamas’s acceptance and instead launched a massive ground invasion of Gaza City and announced its intent to force a million Palestinians from their homes and shelters.
The last time Hamas negotiators convened to discuss a response to a U.S. offer was on September 9. Trump sent Hamas a 100-word summary of a purported ceasefire plan via regional mediators. As lead negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya and other senior officials gathered in Hamas’s offices in Doha to discuss it, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes intended to assassinate them. While Al-Hayya and the other leaders survived, Al-Hayya’s son and four Hamas office workers were killed and Al-Hayya’s wife, daughter-in-law and grandchildren were all wounded. A Qatari security officer was also killed.
Multiple Hamas sources told Drop Site that, following the attack, several senior Hamas leaders in Qatar, including Al-Hayya, were moved to secure locations and restrictions were placed on their use of phones and other electronic devices. Qatar, the sources said, told Hamas officials the measures were necessary because there was still an active threat against them. This severely impaired the ability of the movement’s leaders to communicate with each other and with resistance commanders on the ground in Gaza. “In the first three weeks following the assassination operation, there were exceptional security measures for the leaders who were targeted or expected to be targeted,” Nazzal said, adding that since Trump’s proposal was delivered to Hamas on Monday, its leaders have been able to more freely congregate. “Movement and communications began with Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish officials after we received Trump’s plan. That is why contacts have now resumed.”
In order for any ceasefire agreement Hamas signs to be valid, it would require the assent of the ground commanders from Qassam Brigades and Saraya al Quds, the armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in Gaza. Nazzal said that shortly before the attempted assassination strike in Qatar, Hamas’s leadership inside Gaza authorized its external negotiators to make decisions on the terms of a deal. “I don’t believe there is any issue in stances between the military and political leadership,” Nazzal said. “I believe the issue now centers on deciding a position regarding the plan proposed by Trump.”
Nazzal joined Hamas soon after the group’s founding in 1987 and has held various positions over the ensuing decades, including representing the movement in Jordan and Syria and serving on its international council. In October 1997, he was among the senior Hamas officials who appeared publicly in Amman with the group’s founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin after he was freed from an Israeli prison. Nazzal is an influential member of Hamas’s political bureau and was placed under sanctions by the U.S. government in 2024.
Whatever response Hamas submits to Trump would carry with it the endorsement of a range of Palestinian groups, Nazzal emphasized—not just those with armed resistance forces fighting in Gaza. “We believe this is a national issue that concerns the Palestinian people. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and some other factions are leading the military resistance against the occupation. However, there are many Palestinian parties that must be consulted,” he said. “We do not treat what is happening in the Gaza Strip as solely Hamas’s issue—rather, it concerns the entire Palestinian people. That is why we consult with all Palestinian factions to ensure that the position is a comprehensive and unified national stance.”
While most Palestinian parties and prominent political leaders have participated in these “national unity” consultations throughout the genocide, Fatah, the ruling political party of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has refused to participate. “We have continuously tried to extend a hand of cooperation and relationship,” said Nazzal. “Unfortunately, the position of the Palestinian Authority, specifically Abbas, has always been negative.”
