United States President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to “kill” Hamas if the bloodshed in Gaza continues.
In a warning to the Palestinian group, Trump said that “we will have no choice but to go in and kill them”, if internal bloodshed in Gaza persists.
However, Trump did not elaborate on how he would follow through with his threat, which he posted on Truth Social.
The remark comes even as the US President earlier downplayed the internal violence in the territory following the ceasefire and a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
The ceasefire went into effect last week after a two-year war in the Gaza Strip.
Trump had on Tuesday stated that Hamas had taken out “a couple of gangs that were very bad”, adding that the incident “didn’t bother” him “very much”.
The US President had previously warned Hamas, urging the group to disarm, which was part of his peace plan and ceasefire deal for Gaza.
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“They will disarm, and if they don’t do so, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently,” Trump said.
The ceasefire plan introduced by Trump had also included the return of Gaza hostages – living and dead – within a deadline, which expired on Monday. The deal further mentioned that if Hamas failed to do so, it would have to share information about the deceased hostages and try to hand them over as soon as possible.
Hamas has, since its release of 20 living hostages, also handed over bodies of ten deceased, nine of which Israeli military identified as hostages. Israel said there were 28 total in Gaza before the exchange.
Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine on Thursday identified remains of two more hostages returned from Gaza, with officials warning Hamas to hand over the bodies of those still held.
