U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that Israeli forces could return to fighting in Gaza “as soon as I say the word” if Hamas fails to honor its ceasefire agreement.
Trump made the comment during a brief phone interview with CNN on Wednesday, saying his administration is closely monitoring Hamas’ compliance with the peace deal.
“What’s going on with Hamas that’ll be straightened out quickly,” he said.
The U.S. president’s remarks come as Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire terms by failing to hand over all hostages, both living and deceased.
According to Israeli authorities, Hamas has returned 20 living hostages but only four bodies, one of which was later found not to belong to an Israeli.
Under Point 4 of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, all hostages were to be released within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance of the deal.
The delay has sparked outrage in Israel, where leaders have threatened to restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“The rescue of those 20 hostages was paramount,” Trump said, emphasizing that the partial compliance still represented progress.
Violent clashes have since erupted between Hamas and rival groups inside Gaza, with reports of public executions.
Trump said his team was “doing research” to determine whether Hamas was targeting innocent civilians, calling the situation “gangs plus.”
His plan’s Point 6 offers amnesty to Hamas members who renounce violence and surrender their weapons.
Those unwilling to disarm would be granted safe passage out of Gaza to countries willing to receive them.
When asked what would happen if Hamas refused to comply, Trump replied bluntly: “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.”
He added that he had personally restrained the Israeli Defense Forces from resuming full-scale operations, saying, “I had to hold them back. I had it out with Bibi.”
Despite his tough tone, Trump said he remained optimistic about lasting peace in the Middle East.
He noted that 59 countries supported the ceasefire framework, which he referred to as the “Trump Peace Agreement.”
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
“They want to join the Abraham Accords. Now that Iran isn’t a problem, everything’s changing.”
Trump also mentioned ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, revealing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday.
“I’m working hard on the Russian thing,” Trump said, before joking that the Middle East peace process had been ongoing “for three thousand years.”
The president ended the interview by criticizing what he called unfair media coverage, taking aim at ABC News while expressing hope that CBS “will now be fairer” under new leadership.