Endgame or Deception?
Hamas Senior Leader Declares War is 'Completely Over' Thanks to US Guarantees
A senior Hamas leader has announced the “war of annihilation” is definitively over, claiming the group secured guarantees from the US and international mediators for a permanent cessation of hostilities and a complete Israeli withdrawal.
In a triumphal address delivered shortly after the hostage and ceasefire agreement was signed in Egypt, Khalil al-Hayya, the head of the Hamas negotiating delegation, declared that the war had definitively ended. Al-Hayya asserted that Hamas had received guarantees from the mediating countries and the United States confirming a permanent conclusion to the military operation.
Speaking to the residents of the Gaza Strip, al-Hayya lauded their resilience, stating, "The world stood astonished in the face of what you sacrificed and your steadfastness; you waged a war the likes of which the world has not seen, and you stopped the massacres and barbarism of the enemy′s army." He paid tribute to the terror group's senior figures, whom he called "the leaders of the great October 7th operation," listing Ismail Haniyeh, Saleh al-Arouri, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif, alongside other "heroic" resistance fighters. He claimed these fighters "fought at point-blank range against the tanks and IDF soldiers, thereby foiling Israel′s plans one after another, the expulsion, the starvation, the anarchy, and more."
Al-Hayya confirmed that the Hamas negotiating team had worked with "great responsibility" in response to the Trump Plan, submitting a reaction that secured the interests and rights of the Palestinian people and guaranteed an end to the bloodshed. "Our negotiating delegation arrived in Egypt, armed with responsibility and positivity, and together with the resistance force, whom we consulted, we achieved an agreement that we will bring to our people," he stated.
The details of the agreement, as framed by al-Hayya and later echoed by senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan, include several key components beyond the immediate release of hostages:
In related news, an Israeli official informed CNN that Israel is not expected to return the bodies of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and his brother, Mohammed, as part of the deal. Furthermore, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office formally declared that Marwan Barghouti will not be released in the exchange, despite reports suggesting otherwise. Hamas also demanded that the Israeli Air Force halt drone operations over Gaza to facilitate the hostage release, though the connection between the two conditions remains unclear.