US President Donald Trump warned to “eradicate” Hamas if it violated a cease-fire agreement with Israel, as Vice President JD Vance traveled to the region on Tuesday to support the shaky Gaza truce.
The Trump administration has stepped up its attempts to cement the fragile Gaza peace accord it helped broker after Israel accused Hamas of delaying the return of captives’ bodies and deadly violence erupted in the area over the weekend.
“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,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“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,” Trump said.
Despite the weekend’s violence, both sides remain committed to the US-backed truce. On Monday, Israel confirmed that Hamas returned 13 of the 28 hostages it had promised to return.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that Hamas must fulfill its commitment to return all hostages’ remains to implement the ceasefire agreement.
“We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all of the deceased hostages, every last one of them,” the statement said.
Hamas has stated that it needs additional time and technological expertise to complete the body healing process.
Vance is scheduled to visit Israel on Tuesday, where Netanyahu plans to discuss “two things…the security challenges we face and the diplomatic opportunities before us.”
The ceasefire, which went into effect on October 10, laid out a plan for hostage and prisoner swaps and provided a bold vision for Gaza’s future. However, its deployment has immediately encountered difficulties.
According to Netanyahu, Israel carried out dozens of raids in Gaza on Sunday, employing 153 tons (337,307 pounds) of explosives to target Hamas following the deaths of two Israeli troops in the territory’s south.
According to Gaza’s civil defense organization, the strikes killed at least 45 individuals across the region.
The Israeli prime minister charged the extremist organization with “a blatant violation” of the ceasefire, which it rejected.
Trump stated that the American military will not be involved in the fight against Hamas but added that “Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to.”
“But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance,” Trump added.
Four individuals were killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza City on Monday, according to the Gazan civil defense organization, which is run by Hamas. Israel’s military says it fired on militants who breached a ceasefire line.
Israeli soldiers have withdrawn beyond the so-called “Yellow Line” under Trump’s 20-point plan, leaving them in control of roughly half of Gaza, including its borders but not its main cities.
The Israeli military have fired on Gazans who they claim are approaching their new positions multiple times since the cease-fire was established.
Due to media restrictions in Gaza and limited access to many places, the AFP is unable to independently verify information provided by the civil defense service or the Israeli military.
The military stated that after carrying out Sunday’s attacks in reaction to the attack on its soldiers, it had “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” but would “respond firmly to any violation.”
Hamas denied knowledge of any strike, with one official blaming Israel for inventing “pretexts” to restart the conflict.
The conflict, which began with Hamas’ October 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel, has killed at least 68,216 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled enclave, estimates that the United Nations believes are credible.
The data makes no distinction between civilians and fighters, but it does show that more than half of the deceased are women and children.
According to an AFP assessment based on official Israeli numbers, Hamas‘ 2023 attack killed 1,221 persons; the majority of them were civilians.
