US President Donald Trump threatened action on Thursday against Hamas over public executions carried out by the terrorist group after Israel withdrew from portions of the Gaza Strip under a US-backed ceasefire deal.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” he warned in a Truth Social message.
The post seemed to mark a reversal from his initial stance two days earlier on Hamas’s summary execution of Palestinians from rival gangs and Gazans it has accused of collaborating with Israel.
It also came as an Israeli-backed militia in southern Gaza appealed to the international community in a video obtained by The Times of Israel, urging the American president to protect residents of the Strip from Hamas.
Trump claimed on Tuesday that he had given Hamas “approval for a period of time” to carry out the killings, asserting that the terror organization was targeting some “very bad gangs.”
By Wednesday, though, the commander of US forces in the Middle East called on Hamas to immediately stop attacks on “innocent Palestinian civilians” and begin “disarming without delay”
Hours later, Trump told CNN he was doing “more research on it… It could be gangs plus.”
While Trump spoke in “we” terms when talking about who would carry out his threat against Hamas, he has in the past clarified that he is referring to Israel regarding such retribution and that US troops will not be needed in Gaza, which the US president reiterated later Thursday.
“Somebody will go in” to Gaza, he said in response to a reporter’s question, but “it’s not going to be us.”
“We won’t have to” enter the Strip, Trump continued. “There are people very nearby that will go in, they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices.”
The White House’s reluctance to put American boots on the ground has also led to skepticism regarding the emerging International Security Force for Gaza, a proposed multinational force intended to provide security in the enclave during its reconstruction.
A European diplomat told The Times of Israel Thursday that the plan’s ill-defined role for the US has dissuaded other countries, particularly Arab nations, from committing themselves to the endeavor, but said there should be clarity “in the coming days.”
“There are some other nations who said they would be interested to participate, but we will ask first to have a guarantee that the US also are involved in the forces itself,” said the diplomat, while noting the mandate of the force also remains in the air.
“Would it be safeguarding order? Would it be, rather, a mission of training Palestinian forces? And in this case, where and how many? There are a lot of things that remain blurred for now.”
From ‘military war’ to ‘war of terrorists’
As Hamas attempts to regain a foothold in parts of the enclave, militia leader Hossam al-Astal — operating with Israeli support in the southern city of Khan Younis — urged the world to protect Gaza’s residents from the terror group amid its wave of public killings.
In the video obtained by The Times of Israel, al-Astal thanked Trump for his effort toward the ceasefire, but added that after saving Gazans from Israeli bombardment, the president should now save them from Hamas.
“Hamas is killing hundreds of children, women, youths and elderly people. Under what charge? We came out of a military war into a war of terrorists,” he declared.
“Today, Hamas is waging terror against the people in Gaza, killing with RPGs. Hamas is 100% ISIS,” he continued, calling on the international community to protect Gaza’s residents from Hamas.
The militia leader said his militia is not “seeking to rule Gaza or gain influence.”
“We want to move the people from Hamas’s rule to civilian rule that will serve the residents. We want peace and we want to live. We are not fighting Hamas today in order to rule,” he insisted.
In a conversation with The Times of Israel after the video was recorded, al-Astal stressed that his group is continuing to fight Hamas.
