Donald Trump threatens to ‘eradicate’ Hamas if Israel peace deal does not get back on track

President Donald Trump has threatened to eradicate Hamas if they waiver from their truce deal with Israel, as US envoys met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aiming to get the Gaza Strip ceasefire plan back on track.

Mr Trump addressed the explosion of violence over the weekend that threatened to derail the week-old agreement during his media conference with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the Oval Office.

“We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice,” Mr Trump said.

“And if they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them, if we have to. They’ll be eradicated, and they know that.”.

The US president was lauded for his pivotal role in brokering the Gaza deal which has hung by a thread as Israel accuses Hamas of stalling on handing over dead hostages, and launching attacks.

Mr Trump warned the militant group to stop public executions of rivals as it seeks to reestablish its grip on the devastated territory but said American forces would not be involved against Hamas.

“In addition, you have Israel would go in in two minutes, if I asked them to go in,” Trump said.

“But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance, and hopefully there will be a little less violence. But right now, you know, they’re violent people,” he added.

“They got very rambunctious, and they did things that they shouldn’t be doing, and if they keep doing it, then we’re going to go in and straighten it out, and it’ll happen very quickly and pretty violently.”

Israel and Hamas have both recommitted to the ceasefire plan pushed by US President Donald Trump since Sunday’s flare-up in which a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers prompted an Israeli bombardment killing at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip.

However, with even the first stages of the truce shaken by repeated flashes of violence, including on Monday, it is far from clear whether the US will be able to keep pressure on the two sides and maintain momentum to end the conflict.

The US envoys, Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, were expected to push to shore up the truce and then start talks on the next, more difficult, phase of the 20-step plan during their visit.

US Vice President JD Vance was also due to visit Israel on Tuesday, with Netanyahu saying the two will discuss regional challenges and opportunities.

Addressing Israel’s parliament, Netanyahu said that together with Trump, he expected to forge peace agreements in the region.

High level US diplomacy in the region, with talks also due later on Monday with Hamas in Egypt, underscore the importance of cementing the ceasefire to Trump, who last week proclaimed “the historic dawn of a new Middle East”.

On Monday, Palestinian medics said three more people had been killed by Israeli tank fire near the “yellow line” demarcating Israel’s military pullback inside the Gaza Strip from the main populated areas.

The Israeli military said forces had fired at militants who crossed that line.

Gaza City residents said they were confused about the line, with electronic maps available but physical markings not established yet on most of the route.

“The whole area is in ruins. We saw the maps but we can’t tell where those lines are,” said Samir, 50, who lives in Tuffah.

Israel’s defence minister on Monday published video showing bulldozers towing yellow blocks into place to mark out the line.

Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Israel, aimed at discussions on the next phase of Trump’s complex ceasefire plan, was scheduled before Sunday’s flare-up in violence, according to US and Israeli sources.

Hamas handed over the body of another person presumed to be one of the hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli communities.

The Israeli army said on Monday that the coffin had been handed over to employees of the Red Cross.

They were on their way to transfer it to the military.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Hamas must hand over a total of 28 bodies.

If the body handed over on Monday is positively identified as one of the missing hostages, 15 dead hostages would still remain in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt will host talks in Cairo on Monday with Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ exiled Gaza Strip chief, over ways to follow up on implementing the ceasefire, the group said in a statement.

A Palestinian official close to the talks said the group’s delegation would discuss ways to push forward the formation of a technocratic body to run the enclave without Hamas representation.

Hamas and other allied factions reject any foreign administration of the strip as envisaged in the Trump plan and has so far resisted calls to lay down arms, which may complicate implementation of the deal.

with DPA