A senior Hamas official has thanked US President Donald Trump for his role in securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying the conflict would not have ended without his direct involvement. In an interview with Sky News Dr Basem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said: “Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don’t think that it would have happened to reach the end of the war. Therefore, yes, we thank President Trump and his personal efforts to interfere and to pressure [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to bring an end to this massacre and slaughtering.” Naim said Hamas welcomed Trump’s mediation and urged him to keep pressing Israel to honour the terms of the ceasefire. “We believe and we hope that President Trump will continue to interfere personally and to exercise the maximum pressure on Netanyahu to fulfil the obligation,” he said. The ceasefire, part of a wider peace plan led by Trump’s administration, aims to stop months of fighting in Gaza and create a path toward a new governing structure for the territory. Under the plan, an international supervisory council which could include former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and administration. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn after arriving on Marine One at the White House, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo) However, Naim said Blair would not be accepted by Hamas or the Palestinian people. “When it comes to Tony Blair, unfortunately, we Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims and maybe others around the world have bad memories of him,” he told Sky News. “We still remember his role in causing the killing of thousands or millions of innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. We can remember him very well.” Asked about Gaza’s post-war future, Naim said Hamas was ready to step aside to allow a Palestinian national body to govern the territory. But he made clear that Hamas would not disarm or give up control of its weapons unless a recognised Palestinian state was established. “Our weapons are going to be handed over only to the hands of a Palestinian state, and our fighters can be integrated into the Palestinian National Army,” he said. “No one has the right to deny us the right to resist the occupation of armies. We are not going to be disarmed as long as we are not sure that this will lead to having an independent state able to defend itself.” Naim said Hamas saw Trump’s plan as “a step towards peace” but insisted the group could not be fully satisfied while Israel, as he put it, “continues to act as an occupying power.” He added that Netanyahu’s public comments threatening further military action showed why continued US pressure was essential. “Without this personal interference from President Trump, this will not happen,” he said. Trump’s Gaza plan includes the creation of a Council of Peace that would oversee reconstruction and governance in Gaza, working with Palestinian technocrats to run daily affairs. The council would also manage international aid and security arrangements. Israel has denied Hamas’s accusations of genocide, saying its military campaign was aimed at destroying Hamas fighters who carried out the 2023 October 7 attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed and many taken hostage in southern Israel. Hamas, meanwhile, has called the ceasefire “an opportunity” to rebuild Gaza, provided Israel complies with the agreement and as Naim noted, “with continued guarantees from President Trump.”
