Hamas says Miami talks must end Israel 'violations'

A top Hamas official said Friday talks in Miami to advance the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire must aim to end Israeli truce "violations", as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged the group's disarmament.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is to meet officials from Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye in Florida, hoping to salvage efforts to reach the second stage of the deal.

"Our people expect these talks to result in an agreement to put an end to ongoing Israeli lawlessness, halt all violations and compel the occupation to abide by the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement," Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP.

During the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilisation force is to be deployed.

Israel and Hamas backed the agreement, which was brokered by Washington and its regional allies, in October, but progress has been slow.

The ceasefire also remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.

Briefing journalists in Washington, Rubio said peace would not be possible in Gaza unless the Palestinian resistance movement disarmed -- a provision of Trump's peace plan that has been a particular sticking point.

"If Hamas is ever in a position in the future that they can threaten or attack Israel, you're not going to have peace," Rubio said, adding: "That's why disarmament is so critical."

Hamas's Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said Sunday the resistance group had a "legitimate right" to hold weapons. Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas will be disarmed.

Rubio also said Friday he was confident that countries would send troops for the planned international stabilisation force.

"I feel very confident that we have a number of nation states acceptable to all sides in this who are willing to step forward and be a part of that stabilisation force," he said.

- 'Real pressure' needed -

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 395 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the territory since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10.

Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with the military reporting three soldiers killed in the territory since the truce entered into force.

The Trump administration is now keen to proceed to the difficult second stage.

Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, said it was pushing for a swift implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that, while swift implementation was essential to realising all elements of the deal, steps must be taken to halt truce violations.

The international community must "exert real and effective pressure to halt all violations that occur on a daily basis of the ceasefire agreement", he told a news conference in Cairo.

Hamas's Naim said the new talks should also boost entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

He said talks should address how to implement the plan in a way to ensure "sustainable stability, launches a comprehensive reconstruction process and paves the way for a political track enabling Palestinians to govern themselves, culminating in a fully sovereign and independent state".

In the first phase of the deal, the Palestinian resistance movement committed to releasing the remaining 48 living and dead captives held in the territory. To date, they have released all of the hostages except for one body.

The ceasefire's third phase includes plans for the reconstruction of the vast areas of Gaza levelled by Israel's retaliatory genocidal military campaign for Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel.