US President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a stern warning to Hamas after a video emerged showing a public execution in Gaza following a ceasefire deal with Israel. The video, widely condemned internationally, prompted Trump to post on social media: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.” His comments indicated that the United States could take direct action if the killings persisted.
Trump’s remarks represented a sharp reversal from his earlier stance. Within the previous 48 hours, he had stated that he had "approved for a period of time" Hamas’s actions against what he described as “very bad gangs,” a comment criticized as appearing to condone the group’s executions of several dozen Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. Following widespread criticism, the US military commander in the Middle East publicly urged Hamas to cease attacks on "innocent Palestinian civilians," signaling a distancing from Trump’s initial position. Later, in an interview with CNN, Trump attempted to clarify his remarks, saying he was “doing more research on it. It could be gangs plus,” suggesting a broader context to his earlier statements.
Although Trump used the term “we” in his warning, he has previously clarified that he was referring to Israel rather than US forces when threatening action against Hamas. He did not provide specifics on how the threat would be implemented, but emphasized limited tolerance for the killings carried out by Hamas against rival factions in Gaza.
The Trump-brokered ceasefire required Hamas to return all hostages, both alive and deceased, by a Monday deadline, with prompt disclosure or delivery of remains if full compliance was impossible. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed on Wednesday that Israel “will not compromise,” demanding that Hamas meet all conditions regarding the return of hostages’ bodies. Hamas’ armed wing responded by asserting it had complied with the ceasefire terms, handing over the remains of all hostages accessible to them. Trump’s warnings underscore heightened US scrutiny of Hamas’ post-ceasefire conduct amid ongoing tensions in Gaza.
