US President Donald Trump said that he would consider allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas refuses to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal, telling CNN that Israeli forces could return to the streets “as soon as I say the word.”
“What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly,” Trump said in a brief telephone call.
Trump’s comments come as Israel is accusing Hamas, a group labelled a terrorist organisation by the US government, of not abiding by the agreement that it hand over hostages, living and dead, as part of a deal to end the fighting in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file) (AP)
That has caused rising anger in Israel, where authorities have told the UN that humanitarian aid shipments expected to be allowed into Gaza will be reduced or delayed because of the small number of deceased hostages turned over. But so far, the tenuous ceasefire has held.
Point four of Trump’s 20-point peace plan stated, “Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.”
As of Wednesday, all 20 of the living Israeli hostages had been returned to Israel. But Hamas had handed over the bodies of only four people, and the Israeli military has said that one of them does not belong to an Israeli hostage. Four to five more bodies are expected to be returned within hours, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Trump noted the rescue of the living hostages was important in its own right. “Getting those 20 hostages out was paramount,” the US president said.
In the days following the hostage release, violent clashes have erupted between Hamas and rival groups, including an incident that culminated in an apparent public execution.
In this drone photo, Palestinians walk in an intersection surrounded by buildings destroyed during two years of Israeli army bombardments in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo) (AP)
Trump has warned previously that Hamas must also disarm or “we will disarm them.” His 20-point plan contemplates a future in which Hamas agrees not to have any role in the governance of Gaza, which will be demilitarised and under independent monitoring. But the administration has acknowledged that it still has to do more work to resolve the future of Gaza, and that the agreement that prompted the hostage release is only phase one.
Trump said that right now, Hamas is “going in and clearing out the gangs, violent gangs.”
“I’m doing research on it,” he said when asked if it was possible that Hamas was executing innocent Palestinians. “We’ll find out about it. It could be gangs plus,” he said.
Point six of the president’s 20-point peace plan states, “Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.”
What happens if Hamas refuses to disarm? CNN asked the president.
The coffin is carried at the funeral for Daniel Peretz, an Israeli soldier who was captured on October 7, 2023 and whose remains were returned to Israel this week. (Getty)
“I think about it,” Trump responded. “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.”
“I had to hold them back,” the president said of the Israel Defence Forces and Netanyahu administration. “I had it out with Bibi.”
The president, though, was clearly feeling positive about long-term prospects for peace, particularly given the strong support of other countries in the region.
“Fifty-nine countries are part of this,” he said of the ceasefire deal, apparently referring to those countries who attended a ceremony in Egypt to sign a document of high-level principles titled the “Trump Peace Agreement” or expressed statements of support.
“We’ve never seen anything like this. Now it’s all happening. They want to be part of the Abraham Accords. Now that Iran isn’t a problem.”
