In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Jeremy Scahill of Dropsite News, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan warned that any ceasefire agreement which fails to end Israel’s military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank will be meaningless and short-lived.

Instead, he outlined Hamas’s willingness to accept what he called a “real ceasefire”—a long-term truce, or hudna, accompanied by full Israeli withdrawal, prisoner exchanges, humanitarian aid access, and a commitment to reconstruction.

“For 19 months, Israel has turned Gaza into a moonscape,” Hamdan said, speaking from Beirut, Lebanon. “More than 90 percent of our people have been displaced, thousands of families have been destroyed, and still the bombs keep falling. This is not war—it is genocide.”

Hamdan, a veteran political leader within Hamas and formerly its representative in Iran and Lebanon, emphasized that Hamas is not seeking endless war. “We are not fighting because we love to fight,” he said. “We are fighting because we are occupied, because our people are being exterminated, because we are not allowed to live as free human beings. If there were a serious political path, if there were a sovereign Palestinian state—we would accept that. But instead, they are trying to erase us.”

Rejection of Temporary Ceasefires: “You Can’t Pause Genocide”

At the core of Hamas’s rejection of Israeli proposals for short-term truces is what Hamdan called “the trap of temporary relief.” According to him, Israel’s offers of 45-day pauses in exchange for hostage swaps and limited aid are not humanitarian gestures—they are tools of continued control and punishment.

“What they are offering is food for two or three weeks so they can come back and kill us again,” Hamdan said. “It is not humanitarian. It is not peace. It is a pause in genocide. And we are not going to legitimize that with our participation.”

He added that this position is not exclusive to Hamas but is shared by much of Gaza’s population. “We hear the same thing from our people—families, journalists, academics, resistance groups. They tell us: Do not accept a deal that means slow death instead of fast death. They understand what Israel is doing.”

The Hudna Proposal: “Five to Seven Years of Stability”

Hamdan detailed Hamas’s proposal for an extended truce, or hudna, rooted in Islamic tradition and previously offered by the movement in negotiations dating back to the 1990s.

“We are ready for a five to seven-year hudna,” he said. “This is not a surrender. This is a structured, comprehensive agreement that includes a full ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, an exchange of all Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners, and the start of reconstruction and aid delivery under international supervision.”

Disarmament a “Million Red Lines”

One of the most contentious issues in recent ceasefire drafts is the Israeli demand that not just Hamas, but all resistance factions in Gaza, disarm. Hamdan categorically rejected that idea.

“You’re asking us to disarm while Israeli tanks are in our streets, while their drones are in our skies, while they are bombing our children in their sleep?” he asked. “This is not just a red line. It is a million red lines.”

Critique of Mediation Efforts

Hamdan expressed disappointment with the role of mediators, particularly Egypt, for presenting Israeli demands such as disarmament as part of negotiations. “As a mediator, you are not supposed to act as a postman for Israeli proposals,” he said. “Mediation means pushing both sides toward a fair deal, not simply repeating the occupier’s demands.”

Engagement with U.S. Officials: “We Surprised Them”

Hamdan confirmed that he and another senior Hamas official met with Adam Boehler, Donald Trump’s special envoy on hostage affairs, marking a rare direct contact between the U.S. government and Hamas. “We talked politics, not just prisoners,” Hamdan explained. “We laid out our position clearly. I think they were surprised to hear Hamas propose practical political ideas.”

According to Hamdan, Israel was alarmed by the engagement and sought to sabotage any diplomacy. “Israel fears Palestinian voices being heard,” he said. “They assassinate our leaders not only to silence us militarily, but to prevent political dialogue.”

Vision for Post-Conflict Gaza

Asked about the future of Gaza, Hamdan rejected Israeli framing of a ‘day after’ scenario, which he said implied total Israeli control and the elimination of resistance. “There is no ‘day after’ until the genocide ends,” he said. “And when it does, Palestinians—not Israel, not the U.S.—will decide who leads and how Gaza is governed.”

Hamdan confirmed Hamas’s willingness to support a national unity or technocratic government to manage Gaza’s recovery. “We are not addicted to power,” he said. “We are committed to the dignity and future of our people. If others can rebuild Gaza and lead fairly, we welcome it.”

West Bank Annexation and Broader Regional Conflict

Hamdan linked the ongoing war in Gaza to Israel’s broader plan to annex the West Bank. “What is happening in Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarem mirrors what is happening in Rafah,” he said. “It is one war. One policy. One goal: to erase the Palestinian people.”

He accused the Palestinian Authority of complicity through its security coordination with Israel. “They are managing our imprisonment,” he said. “The PA is no longer a government. It is an extension of the occupation.”

Hezbollah, Syria, and the Regional Front

Hamdan paid tribute to the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, calling him a martyr and ally in the struggle. “He opened the front without us asking,” Hamdan recalled. “He said: ‘We will deal with the consequences, but we will not abandon Gaza.’”

He also warned that continued Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon risk wider war. “This is not just about Palestine anymore,” he said. “Israel is playing with fire across the whole region.”

October 7th and Palestinian Resistance

Defending the controversial October 7 attacks, Hamdan said, “It was a necessary rupture. A blow against decades of occupation and humiliation.” He described it as a watershed moment: “This was the first step toward liberation. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow—but it has started.”

Two-State Solution and International Order

Despite expressing skepticism that Israel would ever accept a two-state solution, Hamdan reiterated Hamas’s position that it would respect the Palestinian people’s democratic choice. “We support a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital. If the people vote for that, we will support it.”

He warned, however, that international inaction is threatening global stability. “If the world allows this genocide, this occupation, to continue, then the international order itself is collapsing,” he said. “What comes next may be darker than anyone expects.”

Final Message: “This Is Not Just About Us”

In his closing remarks, Hamdan called on the international community to act decisively: “The Israeli occupation cannot be ignored. The genocide in Gaza cannot be excused. We are still here. We are still resisting. But we ask: where is the world?”

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