United States President Donald Trump has warned that Israel could resume its military operations in Gaza if Hamas fails to comply fully with the terms of the current ceasefire agreement.
Speaking in a brief telephone interview with CNN on Wednesday, President Trump said he would “consider allowing” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redeploy forces to Gaza “as soon as I say the word” if Hamas refuses to meet its obligations under the peace deal brokered by Washington.
“What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly,” Trump said, insisting that the group must fulfil its commitments to release all hostages, both living and deceased.
Israel has accused Hamas of breaching the deal by failing to hand over the bodies of several hostages as stipulated in the agreement. Under Point 4 of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Hamas was required to return all captives within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance of the deal.
While all 20 living hostages have been freed, only four bodies have been returned so far, one of which, according to the Israeli military, did not belong to an Israeli hostage.
In response, Israeli authorities have reportedly informed the United Nations that humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza could be reduced or delayed until the agreement is fully honoured.
Despite the setback, Trump described the release of living hostages as a “major breakthrough.”
“Getting those 20 hostages out was paramount,” he said.
His comments come amid reports of renewed internal violence in Gaza, including claims that Hamas has executed members of rival factions. Trump said his administration was still reviewing those allegations.
“I’m doing research on it, we’ll find out about it. It could be gangs plus,” he remarked.
According to Point 6 of Trump’s peace plan, Hamas fighters who surrender their weapons and accept peaceful co-existence will receive amnesty, while those who choose to leave Gaza will be granted safe passage.
When asked what would happen if the group refused to disarm, Trump replied, “Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap out of them, they’d do that. I had to hold them back.”
Still, the president struck an optimistic tone about the broader peace process, saying that 59 countries had endorsed his “Trump Peace Agreement” during a recent ceremony in Egypt.
“They want to be part of the Abraham Accords. Now that Iran isn’t a problem, this is all happening,” Trump said.
He also reiterated his commitment to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, announcing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would visit the White House on Friday.
“I’m working hard on the Russian thing. One’s been going on for three years, the other three thousand,” he added.