Hamas has refused to disarm or leave Gaza as part of talks on the future of the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Tuesday evening that ‘the occupation’s demand to remove Hamas from the Gaza Strip is an absurd psychological war’. Qassem added that ‘the departure or disarmament of the resistance from Gaza is unacceptable’.
Qassem also stressed that ‘any arrangements for the future of the Gaza Strip will be made by national consensus’.
The spokesman said that Saturday will witness ‘one of the achievements of the Palestinian people, with the release of a number of prisoners with life sentences and high sentences’ as part of the first phase of the Gaza deal with the Zionist entity.