(AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “we will disarm” Hamas if the Palestinian militants refuse to do it themselves, as he called for the group to release the bodies of hostages in Gaza. Trump’s comments came the day after he swung through the Middle East to celebrate the Gaza ceasefire deal, with questions swirling about the next phases of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“They’re going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Trump told reporters at the White House about Hamas, hours after returning from Israel and Egypt. “It will happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm.” Hamas has so far refused to disarm despite it being a key part of the next phase of Trump’s 20-point plan for a ceasefire and longer-term peace agreement in the Middle East.
Trump did not elaborate on who he meant would be involved in disarming Hamas or whether it would include US forces, but added: “You know I’m not playing games.” The US leader added that Hamas had assured him that “yes sir, we’re going go disarm,” but later clarified that the message was passed on through intermediaries “at the highest level.”
A further point of contention is that while the remaining 20 living hostages held by Hamas were freed on Monday, the group is still holding the bodies of 24 dead hostages. Hamas returned four bodies on Monday. Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday threatened to cut off aid supplies to Gaza if Hamas failed to return the remains of soldiers still held in the territory.
“ALL TWENTY HOSTAGES ARE BACK AND FEELING AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED. A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE,” Trump said earlier on his Truth Social network. “THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!!” Trump later told reporters that Hamas had “misrepresented” the number of dead bodies. “It seems as if they don’t have that, because we’re talking about a much lesser number. But that’s a very tough subject,” he added.
The US leader had proclaimed a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” during his visit, during which he and regional leaders signed a declaration meant to cement the ceasefire in Gaza. A Gaza hospital said it had received the bodies of 45 Palestinians that had been handed back by Israel, also as part of the deal to end the war.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
