ISTANBUL

A Hamas leader on Thursday reaffirmed his group’s commitment to a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel.

“We confirm that Hamas is committed to implementing the agreement, which ensures an end to the war, protection for our people from aggression, and the beginning of reconstruction,” Zahir Jabarin, the Hamas chief in the West Bank, said in a televised speech.

“We reject any form of international guardianship over our people,” he added. “The time has come to grant the Palestinian people their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.”

The Hamas leader warned that the continued detention of Palestinian prisoners “will keep the flames of the conflict alive.”

Jabarin emphasized that the issue of prisoners “is an integral part of the struggle against the criminal occupation — a moral and national value carried by heroes from one generation to another.”

Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 10 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement.

The deal was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.