Trump says Hamas must disarm or be disarmed, perhaps violently

AFP

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had communicated to Hamas that the group must disarm or it will be forced to.

On Monday, Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees under a ceasefire deal brokered by Trump, but Hamas has not publicly committed to downing its weapons.

"If they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently," Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Argentine President Javier Milei.

Trump said he communicated this to Hamas and they had agreed to disarm, as his 20-point peace proposal stated.

"I spoke to Hamas, and I said, you're going to disarm, right? Yes, sir, we're going to disarm. That's what they told me," Trump said, later clarifying that he passed the message through intermediaries.

The outlook for Trump's peace plan has darkened since he returned from a visit to Israel and Egypt on Monday.

Israel restricted aid into Gaza and kept the enclave's border shut on Tuesday, while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street.

Trump downplayed Hamas killing members of other gangs as it reasserts its grip on security.

More from International news

  • Israeli strikes kill 13 in Gaza, minister says no deal to halt attacks

    Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 13 Palestinians, medics said, despite US President Donald Trump's announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year's Gaza ceasefire agreement.

  • Death toll from migrant rush into Ceuta rises to 72

    The death toll from Thursday's mass rush into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco reached at least 72 on Sunday as five more bodies were found along Ceuta's coast, officials said.

  • Ukrainian drones kill eight in Russia

    Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least eight people in Russian regions overnight and on Sunday, hitting targets including a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, regional officials said.

  • Two helicopters collide as Greece battles wildfires

    Two firefighting helicopters collided in Greece while helping to control a huge wildfire on Sunday that has destroyed more than 100 homes northwest of Athens, while a fresh blaze forced evacuations on the popular tourist island of Kefalonia..

News