President Donald Trump on Tuesday sent a stark message to Hamas, warning the terrorist network that if it doesn’t disarm, then “we will disarm them.”
“They said they were going to disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” he told reporters from the White House while meeting with Argentinian President Javier Milei.
Trump’s comments came one day after all the 20 living hostages were released into Israel after nearly 740 days in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, though most of the 28 deceased hostages have not been returned.
AFTER TRUMP DECLARES ‘WAR IS OVER,’ HAMAS EXECUTES RIVALS IN GAZA TO REASSERT CONTROL
Hamas agreed to return all alive and deceased hostages within 72 hours of a deal being reached with Israel, a time frame that officially began on Saturday and concluded Monday.
But Hamas flagged that it may not be able to locate all the bodies of the deceased, including Americans Omer Neutra and Itay Chen, and an international task force was established over the weekend to track them down.
“Above all else, get the hostages back,” Trump said, adding that Hamas “misrepresented” how many of the bodies it would be able to return.
DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGES’ MEDICAL CONDITIONS, WHAT THEY ENDURED IN CAPTIVITY
“I want them back. That’s what they said. I want them back,” Trump said. “Also, they said they were going to disarm.”
Trump wouldn’t specify exactly what action he would take to “disarm” Hamas by force, though he has said he would back Israel in carrying out its full military ambitions in the Gaza Strip if the terrorist network refuses to relinquish its arms.
The disarmament phase was slated to begin in the second stage of the agreement, which was set to commence after all the hostages were returned.
But Trump on Tuesday suggested that the second phase had already begun in a Truth Social post when he said, “All 20 hostages are back and feeling as good as can be expected. A big burden has been lifted, but the job is not done. The dead have not been returned, as promised! Phase two begins right now!!!”
Once Hamas disarms, the Israel Defense Force will also further withdraw from the enclave.
