One week after the White House announced a ceasefire in Gaza, President Donald Trump is threatening armed action against Hamas if the terrorist group doesn’t stop killing people in the enclave.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump’s threat comes after Hamas carried out public executions of people who opposed them, with the killings captured on video, CNN wrote. The violent video, which reportedly shows Hamas fighters publicly executing eight blindfolded people, circulated online.
Ceasefire fragile amid hostage and aid disputes
While meeting with Argentina’s President Javier Milei at the White House Wednesday, Trump warned that the U.S. will get involved if Hamas refuses to disarm voluntarily.
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“We have told them we want [them to] disarm and they will disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Trump said. “And it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently.”
The ceasefire remains fragile. Hamas hasn’t returned all the bodies of dead hostages by the agreed upon deadline, prompting Israel to threaten cutting humanitarian aid to Gaza by half.
The Gaza peace deal is nearing completion of its first phase, which included Israel exchanging Palestinian prisoners for 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Hamas agreed to return the bodies of 28 slain hostages by midday this past Monday. So far, Hamas returned only nine of the 28 bodies. In response, Israel threatened to limit humanitarian aid going into Gaza and send Israel Defense Forces troops back into areas of the region they previously occupied.
Hamas said in a statement that it “committed to what was agreed upon and handed over everyone it had in terms of living captives and what it had in terms of bodies that it could recover,” according to the New York Times. However, Hamas added that “special equipment” is necessary to find and recover the remains of other deceased hostages.
During phase two, Israeli troops are supposed to partially withdraw from Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to reach both Gaza and the West Bank.
Disarmament uncertain, US may start Gaza reconstruction
Since the cease-fire began, Hamas has not taken visible steps toward giving up its weapons, as required by the peace deal.
The U.S. recognizes disarmament is difficult and is considering starting reconstruction in parts of Gaza where Hamas has been removed, even if the group hasn’t fully disarmed yet, U.S. advisers told reporters Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas must give up its arms and power in Gaza or “all hell breaks loose,” CBS News reported.
