A senior Hamas figure has told the BBC that the group is likely to reject Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, saying it serves Israel's interests and ignores those of the Palestinian people.
The figure stated that Hamas is unlikely to agree to disarming and handing over their weapons - a key condition of Trump's plan.
Hamas is also said to object to the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza, which it views as a new form of occupation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted Trump's plan during White House talks on Monday. Hamas has not yet given an official response.
Qatar's foreign ministry has said Hamas is studying the White House proposal responsibly.
A senior Palestinian official with knowledge of Hamas talks indicated discussions are ongoing among the group's leadership both inside and outside of Gaza.
The group's military commander in the territory, Ez al-Din al-Haddad, seems determined to continue fighting rather than accept the plan offered. Hamas figures outside Gaza have recently found themselves sidelined in discussions as they lack direct control over the hostages.
Hamas talks, expected to last several days, also include other Palestinian factions. The armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which was involved in the October 7 attack and previously held some Israeli hostages, rejected the plan on Tuesday.
A significant sticking point for Hamas is believed to be the plan's requirement for them to surrender all hostages at once, thus giving up their only bargaining chip.
Despite Trump's support for the initiative, there is an underlying mistrust that Israel will not resume military action post-hostage recovery, particularly following an attempted assassination of Hamas leadership in Doha earlier this month, which occurred contrary to U.S. interests.
Moreover, Trump's proposal included a controversial map of Gaza indicating a planned buffer zone along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, which raises concerns about administration. Israel's involvement in this could ignite further contention.
Since agreeing to the plan on Monday, Netanyahu has pushed back against several outlined terms, asserting, in a video message, that Israeli military operations would persist in parts of Gaza and that Israel would forcibly resist a Palestinian state.
This contradicts Trump's framework, suggesting a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, and proposing that the plan could potentially pave the way for Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
Within Gaza, while residents express general support for the plan as a means to end the current conflict, there are pronounced reservations regarding its implications. Khadar Abu Kweik remarked, The American plan has bad clauses, but I support it because it will stop the war and get rid of Hamas. Even if the devil himself brought a plan to end this hell we are living in, I would support it.
Conversely, journalist Fathi Sabah warns that a Hamas rejection could provide Netanyahu with the pretext to escalate military operations against Gaza, leading to further devastation, which the exhausted population cannot endure.
The ongoing conflict, which erupted after a Hamas-led attack on October 7, has reportedly resulted in a devastating toll, with over 66,000 deaths in Gaza since the Israeli military's retaliatory actions.
International observations have raised alarms about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with claims of genocide denounced by Israel, further complicating the situation.
