A senior Hamas leader told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the Palestinian resistance group is willing to consider a temporary weapons "freeze” but will not accept the disarmament terms in the U.S.-backed Gaza peace plan.

"The idea of total disarmament is unacceptable to the resistance (Hamas). What is being proposed is a freeze, or storage (of weapons)... to provide guarantees against any military escalation from Gaza with the Israeli occupation," said Khaled Meshaal in an interview aired Wednesday.

"Disarmament for a Palestinian means stripping away his very soul," Meshaal added. The former Hamas chief said the group was open to an international peacekeeping force along Gaza's border with Israel, but would not agree to it operating inside the Palestinian territory, calling such a plan an "occupation."

Hamas has accused Israel of violating the cease-fire terms because of the slow flow of aid, continued closure of the Rafah crossing and ongoing deadly strikes on Gaza, which continue to kill civilians, including children.

Israel killed over 70,000 people – mostly women and children – and injured 171,000 others since 2023.

Independent assessments warn that indirect deaths from disease, hunger and infrastructure collapse could push the real toll beyond 100,000.