Hamas leader says Israel’s end-goal is to drive Palestinians off their land, and the silence from those who supported Trump’s peace plan is provide cover for the ongoing genocide.
Israel is imposing a new reality in Gaza involving assassinations and repeated strikes, enabled by US cover. This, according to Islamic Jihad deputy secretary-general Mohammad al-Hindi, will continue for as long as the guarantors are incapable of halting the genocide and contend themselves simply with condemning the ongoing killings.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Arabic, Al-Hindi said Israel has simply rotated its justifications in phase two without changing its conduct.
In the first phase, he said, Israel invoked the issue of missing bodies while continuing attacks; in the second, it shifted to weapons. “With or without excuses, Israel will continue.” he added as reported by Drop Site News.
Al-Hindi described how Palestinians trapped in Rafah tunnels are targeted when they emerge due to hunger and extreme hardship, then accused of “violations” if they defend themselves.
In the first phase Israel invoked the issue of missing bodies while continuing attacks; in the second, it shifted to weapons. With or without excuses, Israel will continue its actions
The Hamas deputy secretary-general pointed out how Israel repeatedly labels it a breach of the agreement when they surface, and responds by bombing displaced Palestinians in tents across Gaza. A recent attack this week saw strikes in Khan Younis and Gaza City that killed 32 people in a day, including children, DropSite reported.
“They said this was the response. What kind of response is that?”, he asked during the interview.
“There is no option for the resistance or the Palestinian people other than steadfastness,” al-Hindi said, adding that Palestinians were being left with no option as Israel continues its wanton killing without any condemnation from the guarantors, nor any world leaders.
“There is no other option. Give me another option and we will pursue it.” He added that despite the lack of meaningful choices, the priority remains easing civilian suffering “as much as we can”.
Al-Hindi suggested part of the Zionist strategy currently is to make life unbearable in Gaza to force people into leaving.
“Yet Gaza’s people are deeply rooted in their land with 80 000 Palestinians already registered to return to devastated, starved Gaza with no hospitals. This connection with Gaza is what worries Israel and drives their desire to make life impossible in Gaza.
Al-Hindi said the UN Resolution approved at Sharm el-Sheikh offered no real political horizon, despite claims to the contrary from some (the Palestinian Authority had endorsed it explicitly as representing one).
“Now it is clear the political horizon is completely blocked,” he said, arguing Israel seeks “sovereignty for Trump and security for Israel” in Gaza. Meanwhile, the West Bank faces nightly arrests and mass displacement.
“The suffering in the West Bank has recently become worse than in Gaza,” he said. “They condemn and warn,” he said of guarantor states. “But the question is: what are you actually going to do?”
In DropSite’s report of the Al Jazeera interview, Al-Hindi said: “The balance of power is what it is. This is a struggle, as I said, and Palestine is part of a broader regional conflict. There are states that guaranteed the agreement and states that voted in the Security Council, with specific clauses. What are they waiting for now?
“They said once the bodies issue is resolved, that’s it. The technocratic committee is formed, that’s it. The Peace Council is formed, that’s it. Trump formed the Peace Council, formed the executive council largely composed of Zionists, and still the attacks in Gaza increase, with or without pretexts. Israel fabricates lies. This is very clear.”
“As long as no one takes serious, effective steps, and as long as the Trump administration covers and participates in these crimes and coordinates with Israel, we should expect worse. Should we wait for crimes in Jerusalem, in the West Bank? What are they doing? What are they waiting for? Those who talked about the two-state solution, was that just rhetoric?.”
Al-Hindi rejected Israel’s claim that Gaza’s reconstruction depends on disarmament, calling it “a big lie” designed to justify continued violence.
“When the pretext of the bodies ended, did the attacks stop? No,” he said. “If weapons were handed over, attacks would not stop and reconstruction would not happen.”
Al-Hindi argued that disarmament would deepen Palestinian vulnerability, not enable rebuilding.
“Weakness invites more aggression,” he said, warning it would open the door to forced displacement. He pointed to Israeli-backed collaborator militias in Gaza and said surrendering weapons would leave civilians exposed in Gaza and the West Bank alike.
“This is not the weapon of a faction,” al-Hindi said. “It is the weapon of the Palestinian people.”
While noting that the resistance has shown flexibility to remove pretexts, with no armed displays or operations, he was unequivocal in his Al Jazeera interview: “ The weapons will not be handed over. It solves nothing and only serves as a pretext.”