Trump warns Hamas has 'short period of time' to disarm

President Donald Trump said Hamas would be given a “very short period of time” to disarm following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the U.S. looks to shore up the ceasefire in Gaza and move to the second phase of the plan.

“We talked about Hamas and we talked about disarmament. And they’re going to be given a very short period of time to disarm and we’ll see how that works out,” Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort alongside the visiting Israeli leader.

Trump said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “will be in charge of that from our side,” and delivered a stark warning for Hamas if it refused to give up its arms.

“If they don’t disarm, as they agreed to do — they agreed to it — and then there’ll be hell to pay for them, and we don’t want that. We’re not looking for that,” Trump added.

Asked what the repercussions would be for Hamas, Trump said “it would be horrible for them” and suggested that other nations in the region — without specifying whom he was referring too — would “wipe out” the militant group. Israel has threatened to resume its Gaza offensive if that is necessary to disarm Hamas.

Trump’s comments come as the administration looks for fresh momentum to push ahead with its multi-stage ceasefire agreement for Gaza, despite numerous obstacles.

The troubled opening months of the ceasefire, though, have stoked fears that regional fighting could resume in the new year. Arab and Muslim partners have voiced concerns about continuing Israeli military strikes in the war-shattered and now-divided Palestinian enclave, as well as in Lebanon and Syria.

Trump has been highly supportive of Israel even as it faced censure elsewhere over the carnage in Gaza, saying the country had “lived up to the plan 100%” and praising Netanyahu on Monday for his wartime stewardship and military action with the U.S. to curb Iran’s nuclear program.

“We agree on most of the things,” Trump said.

Trump also said that the two leaders had an “understanding regarding Syria,” which has been a flashpoint. Trump has befriended Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, an ex-jihadi who toppled his predecessor, Bashar al-Assad, a year ago. Assad was an Iranian ally and fell in part due to Israel’s victories over Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. But Sharaa has been cool to ideas of reconciliation with Israel, citing its occupation of Syrian land for a deepened buffer zone.

Trump earlier this month urged Israel to maintain a dialogue with Syria after a deadly military operation on the border further strained relations between the two nations.

“Our interest is to have a peaceful border with Syria, our interest is to have and we openly say it, we want to make sure that the border area right next to our border is safe,” Netanyahu said Monday.

Phase two

Despite the warm relationship between Trump and Netanyahu — with the Israeli leader announcing Monday that the U.S. president would receive the Israel Prize, becoming the first foreign leader so honored — Trump has expressed an eagerness to move on to the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire plan, including the territory’s reconstruction.

Earlier this month, Rubio told reporters the next step in the peace process should be naming a “Board of Peace” — identifying a group of technocrats who would run Gaza under a transitional government — a move that would also allow for a cohort of foreign troops to create an International Stabilization Force to provide security.

Israel, however, says it’s fending off fresh threats by armed Islamist groups. Chief among these is Hamas, which triggered the two-year conflict in the Gaza Strip and agreed to the truce and a full hostage release — but not to unconditionally surrender weapons as demanded by Trump’s internationally endorsed 20-point peace plan. The group has said it might be willing to integrate into the military of a future Palestinian state.

In Lebanon, Israel has been hitting Hezbollah and accusing the Beirut government of lagging in its promise to prevent the militia from rearming and regrouping at the border.

Israeli and U.S. officials privately acknowledge arguing over whether Israel should withdraw troops and tanks from parts of the 53% of the territory it still holds, and hand them over to the ISF, even as Hamas remains armed and defiant in the rest. It’s also unclear whether the ISF would be willing and able to confront Hamas, which is branded a terrorist group by the US and European Union.

Since the U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in October, periodic Israeli strikes and operations in Gaza have continued, although large-scale combat has largely come to an end. Israel has said its sporadic strikes were caused by Hamas violations of the truce. The Palestinian group has accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire deal and limiting aid into the enclave.

Trump earlier Monday said the reconstruction of Gaza would begin soon.

“We’re going to straighten it out. We’re already starting certain things,” he said, without providing further details.

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With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron, Ethan Bronner and Laura Davison.

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