ISTANBUL

Hamas announced on Friday that it is willing to step aside from ruling the Gaza Strip but stressed that it is an inseparable part of the Palestinian people.

Hamas is part of the Palestinian fabric and cannot be excluded. "But as I said again and again regarding the ruling of Gaza, we are ready to be out of the ruling of Gaza. We have no problem with this,” senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said in an interview with CNN.

Since taking over the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-ruled Palestinian Authority (PA) on June 14, 2007, Hamas has governed the territory until the Gaza war began in October 2023.

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump presented a 21-point plan to Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, outlining postwar arrangements for Gaza.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the plan includes forming a Gaza administration without Hamas, creating a joint security force of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Muslim states, and securing Arab and Islamic funding for reconstruction, with limited involvement by the Palestinian Authority. The channel said Trump urged leaders to support and commit to the plan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has insisted the war aims are to free all hostages, dismantle Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel -- effectively meaning Hamas’ removal.

Hamad also spoke about surviving an Israeli airstrike in Qatar, calling it “a miracle” because the missiles struck near their location. He said Israeli forces are trying to target people involved in negotiations and want to kill even the negotiating track.

On Sept. 9, Israel bombed Hamas’ leadership in Doha, an attack condemned by Qatar, which said it reserves the right to respond and formed a legal committee to pursue action. Hamas announced that its delegation, led in Gaza by Khalil al-Hayya, survived, but that al-Hayya’s chief of staff, Jihad Lebed, his son Hammam al-Hayya, and three aides were killed.

Asked about a US proposal for Hamas to release all Israeli hostages -- dead and alive -- in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and an immediate ceasefire, Hamad said: “We insisted on a comprehensive deal to return all hostages within 24 hours, but Israel refused.”

He denied that hostages were being used as human shields. Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned on Telegram that the ongoing Israeli ground operation in Gaza would increase the danger to hostages.

Israel estimates 48 hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 alive. About 11,100 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, where rights groups say many face torture, starvation, and medical neglect, with deaths reported.

Hamas has repeatedly said it is ready for either a partial or comprehensive prisoner exchange. Netanyahu has faced criticism from opposition leaders and hostage families who accuse him of prolonging the war to protect his political standing.

The Israeli army has killed more than 65,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. Months of air and ground assaults have left Gaza largely uninhabitable, pushing its population into famine and disease.