Trump Issues Warning to Hamas Over Disarmament
President Donald Trump issued a clear warning to Hamas on Tuesday, stating that if the terrorist group does not disarm, he would take action to “disarm” them himself.
During a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House, Trump remarked, “They said they will disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them too.”
This warning came shortly after all 20 living hostages were released to Israel, following nearly 740 days of captivity by Hamas. However, the return of the deceased hostages remains incomplete, with the majority of the 28 dead still unaccounted for.
Hamas had agreed to return all hostages, both living and deceased, within 72 hours of a deal with Israel, which started on Saturday and concluded on Monday. Yet, they expressed concerns about locating all the bodies, prompting the establishment of an international task force focused on tracing the dead, including Americans Omer Neutra and Itai Chen.
Trump emphasized that the main priority is bringing the hostages back, alleging that Hamas “misrepresented” the number of bodies they could locate.
He added, “I want them back. That’s what they said. I want them back.” Trump continued, mentioning that Hamas said they intended to disarm as well.
While he did not elaborate on the precise measures he would take to disarm Hamas, he indicated that he would support Israel fully in pursuing its military objectives in Gaza if the group failed to relinquish its weapons.
The disarmament process was supposed to start in the second phase of the agreement, following the return of all hostages.
Interestingly, Trump suggested that this second phase might already be underway. He posted on Truth Social on Tuesday: “All 20 hostages are back and feeling as energized as we could hope for. A huge burden has been lifted, but the job is not done yet. As promised, the dead have not returned! Phase 2 begins now!”
If Hamas complies with disarmament, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would subsequently withdraw further from the area.
