US President Donald Trump has warned Hamas to disarm or face force, as the remains of four dead hostages were returned to Israel from Gaza.
Speaking at the White House alongside Argentine President Javier Milei, Trump said he had relayed the message to Hamas under his 20-point peace plan.
“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them, and it will happen quickly and perhaps violently,” he said, adding that the group had agreed “through intermediaries” to comply.
Hamas has not publicly confirmed any such commitment.
Hours earlier, Trump declared “phase two” of the Gaza ceasefire had begun, after 20 Israeli hostages were released.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) later confirmed that four coffins containing hostages’ remains had been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross before crossing into Israel.
Israel has since tightened border restrictions, keeping the Rafah crossing closed and cutting aid deliveries to pressure Hamas to return the remaining bodies.
In total, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages. Eight bodies have been recovered, with 20 hostages still declared dead in Gaza.
The fragile ceasefire has largely held, though six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes that the IDF said targeted “suspects” violating truce lines.
Meanwhile, Hamas fighters have reappeared in Gaza’s streets following Israel’s troop withdrawal, with footage showing executions of alleged collaborators, acts condemned by the Palestinian presidency as “heinous” and a violation of human rights.
A regional summit in Egypt, co-hosted by Trump, ended without major progress toward forming a new governing body or international security force for Gaza.
Source: ABC.
