US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Hamas to abide by the ceasefire agreement, calling the group “violent people” who could be “put out in two minutes” if they violated the deal.
Speaking at a Diwali celebration at the White House, Trump said the Middle East was witnessing “unprecedented peace” under his leadership. “We are forging peace all over the world… We’re getting everybody to get along. I just got a call from the Middle East. We’re doing very well there. We have many countries signed on to peace in the Middle East, and nobody thought they’d ever see that happening,” he said, as quoted by ANI.
Addressing the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas, Trump said his administration was giving the group a chance to “be good and straight”. “The Hamas situation, they’re pretty violent people. We could put that out in two minutes. We’re giving them a chance. They agreed that they’d be very good and straight. They wouldn’t be killing people,” he said.
The President further cautioned that any violation of the ceasefire would invite swift action. “If they don’t honour the deal, they’ll be taken care of very quickly. It is total peace in the Middle East; we have levels of friendship with everybody. Every country that hated each other now loves each other. Nobody ever saw anything like it,” Trump added.
Trump also posted on social media that several Middle Eastern allies had expressed readiness to intervene in Gaza if Hamas breached the ceasefire. “Numerous of our now great allies in the Middle East have explicitly and strongly informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into Gaza with a heavy force and straighten out Hamas if they continue to act badly,” he wrote.
He added that he had asked these nations, including Indonesia, to wait for now, expressing hope that Hamas would “do what is right.” “If they do not, an end to Hamas will be fast, furious, and brutal,” Trump warned.
According to reports, Israeli forces dropped over 150 tonnes of bombs on Hamas targets in Gaza in response to what they said was a ceasefire violation. Despite the flare-up, both Israel and Hamas have reaffirmed their commitment to the US-backed truce.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement that Hamas must return the remains of all hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement. So far, 13 of the 28 deceased hostages have been handed over, according to Israeli authorities.
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