President Trump said on Wednesday that the Israeli military could resume attacks in Gaza “as soon as I say the word” if Hamas doesn’t disarm.
When asked by CNN what would happen if Hamas didn’t give up its weapons, Trump said, “I think about it. 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.”
The president said that he had to hold Israel “back” and that he “had it out with Bibi,” referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that Israel is eager to restart its genocidal campaign.
Israel has killed at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza over the past two days and has imposed restrictions on aid in violation of the ceasefire deal, but it has not restarted the full-scale military operations it was conducting before the ceasefire went into effect.
The Israeli government is claiming that Hamas has violated the deal by not returning all of the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, but Israeli officials were aware that it was possible that not all of the remains would be found and that it would take time to dig them out of the rubble. The ceasefire deal includes a mechanism for communication between Israel and Hamas as the bodies are being retrieved.
While Trump has claimed Hamas has said it will disarm, Hamas officials have said that the group’s military wing will only hand over its weapons to a Palestinian state.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that he instructed the Israeli military to draw up plans to defeat Hamas. “If Hamas refuses to implement the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the US, will return to fighting and work to completely defeat Hamas, change the reality in Gaza, and achieve all the goals of the war,” he said.
