It represented the first phase of a peace plan that Trump says has now moved to phase two, which involves demilitarising Hamas, providing amnesty for those who disarm, and ensuring security in Gaza through an international stabilisation force.
Trump said Hamas had promised him it would disarm – and if it did not, it would be forcibly disarmed, although he declined to explain how.
“They’re going to disarm because they said they were going to disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” he told reporters in Washington. “They know I’m not playing games.”
US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.Credit: AP
Israeli excavators work in the Gaza Strip as the sun sets on Tuesday.Credit: AP
Asked how that would occur, Trump said: “I don’t have to explain that to you.” But he later added “it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently”, and said he would give Hamas “a reasonable period of time” before intervening.
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Trump was unbothered by reports that Hamas fighters killed upwards of two dozen people who were associated with the Dughmush clan, likening it to the US’s own battle against members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
“[Hamas] did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad … They killed a number of gang members. That didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you,” he said.
But he was insistent that the terrorist group would voluntarily lay down arms. “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.”
He later clarified he had not spoken directly with Hamas leaders, but that this was communicated to his team. American news outlet Axios revealed special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Hamas’ leadership in Egypt last week.
Trump called for Hamas to return the bodies of the remaining dead hostages, believed to number about 20, but indicated that Hamas may not be in possession of all the remains.
“They misrepresented because we were told they had 26, 24 [bodies] of dead hostages,” he said. “It seems as though they don’t have that.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it would take time to secure the return of the remaining deceased hostages, as finding them in the rubble of Gaza would be a “massive challenge”.
On Wednesday (AEDT), the Israel Defence Forces said four coffins of deceased hostages were escorted into Israel by the IDF and Shin Bet and taken to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine for identification.
Three were later named as Eitan Levy, 53, Tamir Nimrodi, 19, and Uriel Baruch, 35. In a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the Nimrodi family said Tamir had been killed by IDF bombings in captivity, after previously saying he had been “murdered” by Hamas.
The bodies of four hostages released on Monday were identified as Daniel Peretz, 22; Yossi Sharabi, 53; Guy Illouz, 26 and Nepalese national Bipin Joshi, 23.
Palestinians walk through the al-Zahra area in central Gaza on Tuesday as displaced residents return to their homes.Credit: AFP
Earlier, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a letter it sent to Witkoff asking for US help to secure the release of the remaining bodies.
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The group, the main body representing families of the October 7 hostages, urged Witkoff to “pull out every stop and leave no stone unturned” in demanding Hamas honour the full extent of the agreement.
“What we feared is now happening before our eyes … We cannot rest, and we know you will not rest, until every last hostage is returned,” the letter said.
In a separate social media post, Trump called for the rapid return of more bodies. “A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED!” he wrote on Truth Social.
With Reuters
