After Hamas claimed to have handed over all the dead hostages it could get its hands on, the president threatened to allow the IDF to re-enter the Gaza Strip - and made it clear:"What is happening will be corrected quickly." He claimed that he had authorized the terrorist organization to act against violent gangs - and not to massacre innocent people."We are looking into it," he said.
Ynet
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"If Hamas does not abide by the deal, the IDF can continue fighting as soon as I give the signal," US President Donald Trump threatened in an interview with CNN, after
Hamas claims that it has already handed over all the dead hostages
"What is happening with Hamas will be fixed quickly," he clarified.
3 Viewing the gallery
Mass executions in the Gaza Strip. Trump:"The IDF can continue fighting as soon as I give the signal" (Photo: AP / Carlos Osorio)
A Red Cross vehicle leaves a Hamas compound in Gaza, last night (Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas)
At the same time, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that he had instructed the IDF to prepare a comprehensive plan to defeat Hamas in Gaza in the event of a renewal of the war. Katz conveyed the directive in a discussion held today with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and the IDF leadership.
"As part of the Trump plan, Hamas must return all the hostages it holds and disarm - while Israel, in cooperation with the international force led by the US, will work to destroy all the tunnels and terror infrastructure in Gaza to ensure that Gaza is demilitarized from any threat to the State of Israel," Minister Katz's office said."If Hamas refuses to abide by the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the US, will return to fighting and work to completely defeat Hamas, change the reality in Gaza, and achieve all the goals of the war."
Defense Minister Katz and Chief of Staff Zamir (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
Hamas first announced that it would hand over two kidnapped Palestinians to the Red Cross this evening - and about an hour later, it claimed in another announcement that it had returned all the kidnapped Palestinians alive to Israel and all the Palestinians"whom we can reach." This was while the Red Cross was making its way to the collection point.
The meaning of this claim by the terrorist organization is that Hamas is effectively saying that 19 kidnapped martyrs are not"within its reach" at the moment."As for the remaining martyrs, reaching them requires great efforts and special equipment to search for and rescue them," the statement from Hamas' military wing reads. Over the past 24 hours, Israel has been preparing for another, third, attempt to return martyrs kidnapped from the Gaza Strip - back to their homeland for burial.
Trump referred to the release of the 20 hostages alive on Monday, saying that"their release was extremely important." American sources familiar with the details earlier told Ynet that Steve Witkoff himself is involved in efforts to return all the dead, as Trump's envoy."He is very involved in the incident. He is pressing the pedal and will not let Hamas play games. He is entering the incident with all his might. He will not give up. There is an effort to increase the number of dead that will be returned because according to estimates, Hamas has a high double-digit number of dead. It will probably take time for them to reach them, and in the meantime, Egyptian intelligence has also entered the incident."
After hinting that
Gave "green light" to Hamas to handle internal affairs in the Gaza Strip
Trump declined, saying,"I'm doing research on this. Hamas went in to clear out violent gangs, we're looking into whether they're executing innocent people." He was then asked what would happen if Hamas refused to disarm, and he replied,"I'm thinking about it. Israel will be back on these streets as soon as I give the signal. If Israel could go in and eliminate them (Hamas), they would." Later, in response to questions from reporters at the White House, he clarified that the American military would not be involved in efforts to disarm Hamas.
As mentioned, Trump hinted on Tuesday that he had given"permission" to Hamas to manage internal security in Gaza as he sees fit - despite the chaos and the heavy blood price. Last night, he made it clear in a conversation with reporters that Hamas would have to disarm - and that he was committed to making that happen:"They will disarm, I talked to them and they told me they would. If Hamas doesn't do it, we will disarm them. They know I don't play games. We told them to disarm and if they don't, we will make sure they disarm, and it will be fast and violent."
Later, the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, also issued a statement following the events. He said that"we call on Hamas to immediately cease the violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza." According to him, he was speaking generally about Hamas' repressive actions,"both in the parts under its control and those protected by the IDF beyond the 'Yellow Line.'" He called on the terrorist organization to leave power in Gaza - and to disarm quickly."This is a historic opportunity for peace. Hamas should seize it by fully withdrawing, strictly adhering to President Trump's '20-point' peace plan, and disarming without delay."
