Senior Hamas terrorist Bassem Naim, a member of the terror group's political bureau, has said that the terror group is willing to discuss "freezing or storing" its weapons as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel.
In a Sunday interview with the Associated Press in Doha, Naim said that Hamas is "open" to creating a "comprehensive approach" to avoid further conflict with Israel.
Naim also described the October 7 massacre as an "act of defense" and said that Hamas retains its "right to resist" but that a long-term ceasefire spanning 5-10 years could allow talks to take place.
"This time has to be used seriously and in a comprehensive way," he added, claiming that the terror group is "very open-minded" about how it would disarm. "We can talk about freezing or storing or laying down, with the Palestinian guarantees, not to use it at all during this ceasefire time or truce."
However, he stressed that the international force expected to control Gaza after the war cannot disarm Hamas.
He explained, "We are welcoming a UN force to be near the borders, supervising the ceasefire agreement, reporting about violations, preventing any kind of escalations. But we don’t accept that these forces have any kind of mandates authorizing them to do or to be implemented inside the Palestinian territories."
Regarding US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, Naim told AP that it is "in need of a lot of clarifications."
Claiming that Hamas is not responsible for the violations of the ceasefire, which have cost the lives of multiple IDF soldiers, Naim insisted that his terror group was "not aware" of the terrorists when the ceasefire was signed, and that the terrorists themselves are unaware of what is "going on now on the ground" because contact has been cut off.
Last year, Naim told AFP: "Of the prisoners, we don't know exactly who among them are alive or dead, killed because of strikes or hunger." He added, "There are prisoners held by numerous groups in multiple places" across Gaza.
When Trump suggested repatriation earlier this year, Naim firmly rejected the notion, insisting to NBC News, "Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children."
He added, "[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do."