US President Donald Trump today threatened to “kill” members of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas if it “does not stop killing people” in the Gaza Strip.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which is not foreseen in the agreement [de cessar-fogo]we will have no other option than to go and kill them [aos membros do movimento]”, wrote Trump on his social network, Truth Social.
The Republican leader did not explain exactly whether this would mean military action and a possible suspension of the current ceasefire, although this formulation seems to suggest direct US intervention on the ground.
Hamas on Tuesday released a video of summary executions of alleged Israeli collaborators on the streets of Gaza.
On the same day, Trump was asked about the matter: “They killed some gang members and it didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you.”
On Tuesday, he declared that the United States was ready “to disarm” the Palestinian Islamist movement by force, before later specifying that it would not be “necessary [enviar] American soldiers” to do so.
Already on Wednesday, the United States military commander for the Middle East (Centcom), Brad Cooper, urged Hamas to cease violence against civilians in the Gaza Strip and to seize the “historic opportunity” to achieve peace.
“We strongly urge Hamas to immediately cease violence and shootings against innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, both in areas controlled by Hamas and those under IDF protection. [Forças de Defesa de Israel] behind the yellow line”, wrote Cooper in a message published on the social network X, referring to the line defined in the agreement mediated by the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, based on the peace plan presented by the North American President.
On the same occasion, he assured that, despite the incidents recorded in recent days in the enclave, the United States remained “very optimistic about the future of peace in the region”.
Since the ceasefire came into force on Friday, after two years of war with Israel, triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, journalists from the France-Presse (AFP) news agency have seen members of the Islamist movement’s security forces deployed in several cities in the Gaza Strip, in markets and on the roads.
After several days of clashes, witnesses said on Tuesday that intense fighting took place in the east of Gaza City, in the Shujaia neighborhood, between a Hamas-affiliated unit and armed clans and bands, some of which were reportedly supported by Israel.
Trump had already been questioned on Sunday about the operations carried out by Hamas and had said that they wanted to “put an end to the problems”.
“They have been transparent about this and we have given them our agreement for a certain period of time,” he added.
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