Hamas has not received any formal notice that its planned meeting with US Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff has been canceled, a senior official in the Palestinian movement told Al Manassa on Wednesday, disputing Israeli media reports.
The meeting, initially set for Istanbul to discuss Gaza's future after the genocide, was to involve Khalil Al-Hayya, head of Hamas's negotiation team, and Whitkoff, a top figure in President Donald Trump's administration, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli media claimed the meeting was scrapped following Israeli government pressure, which framed the engagement as tantamount to legitimizing Hamas. Israeli sources reportedly feared the talks would undermine Israel's position in the next stage of negotiations.
“We had previously received messages via Turkey indicating American interest in a meeting, but we have yet to receive any official notification of its cancellation,” the Hamas official told Al Manassa.
In a separate development, another senior Hamas figure revealed that the group has been in contact with several Arab countries—most notably Egypt—to push back against a US-driven plan approved by the UN Security Council to deploy an international security force in Gaza.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan has also confirmed in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher that the group had been in direct contact with Russia and China in an attempt to block the US plan to govern Gaza with the help of foreign forces.
Despite this, the resolution, passed early Tuesday under Washington's direction. China and Russia, who hold veto powers, abstained from voting.
The resolution mandates the formation of a so-called Board of Peace, led by Trump, with the explicit goal of disarming Hamas and administering the Strip.
Hamas condemned the initiative as foreign occupation under international cover and said it had warned regional governments against participating in any such operation, as they will be treated as an “occupying force.”
“We are mobilizing to stop any Arab or Islamic involvement that would lead to direct confrontation with the resistance in Gaza,” the senior official told Al Manassa. “The current framework of this force is a colonial project serving foreign agendas at the expense of Palestinian sovereignty.”
The official added that several Arab capitals had assured Hamas they would not send troops under the current structure.
Egypt, according to the official, conveyed through diplomatic channels that it would not take part in the proposed deployment, effectively shutting down any attempt to use Egyptian forces to implement goals that Israel failed to achieve through military aggression.
Cairo previously endorsed a peacekeeping mission under a different mandate—one focused on maintaining the ceasefire and preventing renewed clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters, without demanding the disarmament of the resistance, the Hamas official explained.
“So far, no country has agreed to send forces that would engage Hamas militarily,” the official said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had earlier stated that any international mission, alongside the so-called Board of Peace, must support Palestinian self-determination and local governance. “It will not be acceptable to have foreigners running Gaza” Abdelatty said.
The US-backed resolution passed the UN Security Council with 13 votes in favor. Russia and China, while forgoing their chance to block the resolution, criticized the measure for lacking consensus and warned it could escalate the crisis. President Trump called the outcome a “moment of true Historic proportion.”
The resolution authorizes an international force to be deployed in Gaza with a mandate to “stabilize” the territory, dismantle armed resistance groups, destroy weapons stockpiles, and impose foreign oversight.
