Trump vows Hamas elimination if truce fails
Shafaq News – Washington
US President Trump on Monday asserted that the ceasefire he brokered in Gaza is “not fragile,” reaffirming that Hamas will be “eliminated” if it fails to disarm.
“Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don’t behave,” he told Fox News, adding, “If I want them to disarm, I’ll get them to disarm very quickly. They’ll be eliminated.”
While Trump’s 20-point plan outlines Hamas’s disarmament, the ceasefire agreement signed by Israel and Hamas in Egypt on October 9 focused solely on the Israeli army’s withdrawal, a prisoner exchange, and humanitarian aid provisions.
Trump noted that Hamas had returned the body of Israeli-American hostage Omar Neutra to Israel, along with the remains of two other Israeli captives. The body of Israeli-American hostage Itay Chen, however, remains in Hamas custody, making him the last American citizen still held in Gaza.
Under the truce, Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli captive’s remains. So far, 225 Palestinian bodies have been repatriated, including 30 transferred on October 30.
The deal also brought an end to more than two years of open warfare in which Israel killed 68,527 Palestinians — most of them women and children.
