Editing Hamas (section)

==== 7 Oct 2023–present ====
[[File:October 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict (7– 8 October).svg|thumb|right|Approximate presence of Hamas militiants (blue) on 7–9 October 2023]]
In a [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel|flash attack on 7 October 2023]], Hamas and associates murdered 767 civilians and killed a further 376 security personnel of the state of [[Israel]]. [[Gaza war|Israel retaliated with warfare in the Gaza Strip]], aiming at Hamas militants but also harming much civilian infrastructure and directly killing tens of thousands of civilians, as admitted even by Israel (not counting the presumed multiple number of indirect deaths). A number of conflicting statements since then were made by Hamas senior leaders regarding the Hamas policy towards Israel.

On 24 October, [[Ghazi Hamad]]—member of the [[#Political Bureau|decision-making Hamas Political Bureau]]<ref name="Libération">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Clémence |title="Israël n'a pas sa place sur notre terre" : qui est Ghazi Hamad, la "voix du Hamas" depuis le massacre du 7 octobre ? |trans-title='Israel has no place on our land': who is Ghazi Hamad, the 'voice of Hamas' since the October 7 massacre? |url=https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/israel-na-pas-sa-place-sur-notre-terre-qui-est-ghazi-hamad-la-voix-du-hamas-depuis-le-massacre-du-7-octobre-20231103_Z6ZD7UK24JBYVAHSCDKYYS5K7Y/ |access-date=6 November 2023 |website=Libération |language=fr}}</ref>—explained the 7 October attack: "Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country because it constitutes a security, military and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation". "We are called a nation of [[Shahid|martyr]]s and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs". Hamad called the creation of the Jewish state "illogical": "(...) We are the victims of the occupation. Therefore, nobody should blame us for the things we do".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pacchiani |first=Gianluca |date=1 November 2023 |title=Hamas official says group will repeat Oct. 7 attack 'twice and three times' to destroy Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-official-says-group-will-repeat-oct-7-attack-twice-and-three-times-to-destroy-israel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307141412/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-official-says-group-will-repeat-oct-7-attack-twice-and-three-times-to-destroy-israel/ |archive-date=7 March 2024 |access-date=17 February 2024 |website=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Leifer |first=Joshua |date=21 March 2024 |title=What is the real Hamas? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/what-is-the-real-hamas |access-date=27 April 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |quote=He [Hamad] said that "Al-Aqsa Flood", Hamas's name for its armed offensive, "is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth". Once considered a thoughtful observer of Palestinian politics, Hamad now declared that "nobody should blame us for what we do – on 7 October, on 10 October, on October 1,000,000. Everything we do is justified." }}</ref>

On 1 November 2023, [[Ismail Haniyeh]], then incumbent highest Hamas leader (but [[Ismail Haniyeh#assassination|assassinated by Israel 31 July 2024]]), stated that if Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the [[Gaza war]], if humanitarian corridors would be opened, and aid would be allowed into Gaza,
Hamas would be "ready for political negotiations for a two-state solution with [[Jerusalem]] as the capital of Palestine". Haniyeh also praised the support of movements in [[Yemen]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]] for the Palestinian struggle.<ref name=Haniyeh2023>{{cite news |title=Haniyeh says Hamas ready for negotiations on a two-state solution if Israel stops war on Gaza |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/58/1262/511435/War-on-Gaza/War-on-Gaza/Haniyeh-says-Hamas-ready-for-negotiations-on-a-two.aspx |work=Al-Ahram |date=1 November 2023 |access-date=20 March 2024 |archive-date=20 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320153323/https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/58/1262/511435/War-on-Gaza/War-on-Gaza/Haniyeh-says-Hamas-ready-for-negotiations-on-a-two.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:An aerial view showing destruction in Rafah after Israeli forces withdrawal and as the ceasefire took hold, Gaza Strip.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Rafah]] in January 2025 after Israel's [[Rafah offensive]] against Hamas]]
In January 2024 [[Khaled Mashal]], a former Hamas leader, slighted "The West" and "the two-state solution", saying "The 1967 borders represent 21% of Palestine, which is practically one fifth of its land, so this cannot be accepted", and adding that "our right in Palestine from the sea to the river" cannot be waived.<ref name=mashal2>{{cite news |title=Meshaal: Hamas rejects 'two-state solution' |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240118-meshaal-hamas-rejects-two-state-solution/ |access-date=20 January 2024 |publisher=Middle East Monitor |date=18 January 2024 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119101010/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240118-meshaal-hamas-rejects-two-state-solution/amp/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  However, he reiterated that Hamas "accepts a state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, with complete independence and with the right of return without recognising the legitimacy of the Zionist entity."<ref name=mashal2 />

Hamas Member of Parliament [[Khalil al-Hayya]], also deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, told the Associated Press in April 2024 that Hamas is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.<ref name="Sewell 2024 s696"/> The [[Associated Press]] considered this a "significant concession", but presumed that [[Israel]] would not even want to consider this scenario following the October 2023 attack.<ref name="Sewell 2024 s696">{{cite web | last=Sewell | first=Abby | title=Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established | website=AP News | date=25 April 2024 | url=https://apnews.com/article/hamas-khalil-alhayya-qatar-ceasefire-1967-borders-4912532b11a9cec29464eab234045438 | access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref>