US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Hamas that it would be “eradicated” if it failed to honour a fragile ceasefire with Israel, urging the militant group to “behave” as Western envoys pressed to shore up the truce.
“We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice,” Trump told reporters at the White House as he met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“They have to be good, and if they’re not good they’ll be eradicated,” he added aboard Air Force One in related remarks, repeating his hardline message as US envoys arrived in the region to reinforce the ceasefire.
Trump said the United States would give the ceasefire “a little chance” in the hope that violence would subside, but warned that continued attacks would prompt a swift and violent response.
“If they keep doing it, then we’re going to go in and straighten it out, and it’ll happen very quickly and pretty violently,” he said, adding that he was not referring to deploying US troops but to other countries that had signed on to the peace plan.
“Israel would go in two minutes if I asked them. I could tell them, ‘Go in and take care of it.’ But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance.”
The warning came a day after Israeli strikes in Gaza that followed an ambush blamed on Hamas which reportedly killed two Israeli soldiers.
At least 45 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza in the Israeli strikes, including children, according to hospital and local sources. Israel briefly suspended humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza amid the exchange before announcing that enforcement of the ceasefire had resumed.
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Trump’s remarks coincided with a flurry of diplomatic activity.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son‑in‑law, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss the next phase of a 20‑step peace plan, while Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were scheduled to visit Israel to continue the diplomatic push.
The president has repeatedly framed the ceasefire as a historic opening for a broader Middle East settlement and has publicly threatened force if the terms are violated.
Last week, after reports of public executions in Gaza, Trump said such acts would violate the deal and compel the US to “go in and kill them”.
On Sunday he told that Hamas had promised to disarm, though without a firm timeline, and warned that at some point Washington would act if disarmament did not occur.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has likewise warned Hamas that any renewed attacks on Israeli forces would carry a “very heavy price,” underscoring the fragility of the truce as both sides test the limits of compliance.
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