US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he may tell the Israeli military to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not implement its part of the recent ceasefire deal.
In a phone call with CNN, the US president was asked what would happen if Hamas refused to disarm. “I think about it,” he said, adding, “Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap out of them, they’d do that.”
Trump went on to say that he “had to hold them back,” speaking of the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I had it out with Bibi.”
During what CNN described as a brief phone call, Trump was quoted as saying, “What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly.”
On Wednesday, Hamas said it had handed over all hostage remains that it could reach. Israel threatened to cut or limit the aid that was recently allowed back into Gaza due to the small number of bodies released.
Meanwhile, Hamas militants publicly executed several Palestinians, accusing them of being “outlaws” and helping the Israeli military. The top US military general called on Hamas to stop the violence and stop shooting innocent Palestinian civilians.
But Trump told CNN that Hamas was “going in and clearing out the gangs, violent gangs.” Asked if those being killed were innocent civilians, Trump said, “I’m doing research on it.” He added, “We’ll find out about it. It could be gangs plus.”