Hamas officials ‘surprised’ by Trump’s accusation that it doesn’t want truce, say progress was being made

Hamas officials express surprise at US President Donald Trump’s accusation that the terror group “didn’t really want” a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza.

“Trump’s remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files,” Hamas official Taher al-Nunu tells AFP.

“So far, we have not been informed of any issues regarding the files under discussion in the indirect ceasefire negotiations,” he adds.

Nunu, who is close to Hamas’s most senior political officials, says he was “surprised” that Israel and the United States had pulled negotiators and mediators from talks in Doha.

Announcing the recall of US mediators on Thursday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not “acting in good faith.”

Though not part of the Hamas negotiating team, Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq insists the group had shown “flexibility” in the talks.

“The American statements deliberately ignore the real obstructionist to all agreements, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s government, which continues to put obstacles, deceive, and evade commitments,” he says.

Both Hamas officials call on the United States to be more even-handed in its role as mediator in the quest for a ceasefire after more than 21 months of fighting.

“We call for an end to the US bias in favour of Netanyahu, who is obstructing any agreement,” Nunu says.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.