US Central Command on Wednesday issued a statement urging Hamas to stop executing Palestinians in Gaza, contradicting earlier comments from President Trump.
Hamas has carried out executions of alleged criminals and collaborators with Israel, which Trump expressed support for on Tuesday, saying the group was taking out gang members. “That’s OK, it’s a couple of very bad gangs,” the president said.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said that the US military command was urging “Hamas to immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza – in both Hamas-held parts of Gaza and those secured by the IDF behind the yellow line.”
According to Israeli media, Hamas has not carried out executions behind the so-called “yellow line,” the term being used for the line that IDF troops withdrew to when the ceasefire went into effect. The Israeli military has killed several Palestinians who the IDF claimed crossed the line, but that was not mentioned in Cooper’s statement.
“This is an historic opportunity for peace. Hamas should seize it by fully standing down, strictly adhering to President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, and disarming without delay,” Cooper said. “We have conveyed our concerns to the mediators who agreed to work with us to enforce the peace and protect innocent Gaza civilians. We remain highly optimistic for the future of peace in the region.”
CENTCOM has sent 200 US troops to Israel to monitor the Gaza ceasefire. The command has also been monitoring a ceasefire in Lebanon, which Israel has flagrantly violated by launching near-daily strikes and carrying out flights over Lebanese territory.
While Trump has expressed support for Hamas’s current armed activity in Gaza, he has also warned that if the group doesn’t disarm itself voluntarily, it will be forced to, “perhaps violently.”
The Gaza ceasefire outline released by the White House called for the “demilitarization” of Gaza, but Hamas officials have maintained they won’t give up their weapons until there is the establishment of a Palestinian state and a Palestinian force that can replace its armed wing.
