A clarification of the Amereican President’s remarks the previous day….
Israel IS STILL having Hamas problems even with the Trump ‘Deal’ being in effect….
The US military will not be needed to disarm Hamas militants, Donald Trump has just told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that the US would support Israel in the effort.
He reiterated that the US wants Hamas to give up their weapons as part of the Gaza deal reached last week.
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Donald Trump said he would consider allowing 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,” the US president said in a telephone call. Asked what happens if Hamas refuses to disarm, Trump said he’d “think about it”. “Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word,” he said. “If Israel could go in and knock the crap of them, they’d do that.” He added of the IDF and the Netanyahu administration: “I had to hold them back. I had it out with Bibi.”
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It comes as Hamas handed over the bodies of another two hostages on Wednesday night but the ceasefire remains fragile amid amid growing tensions over the perceived slow return of the bodies still inside Gaza. The Red Cross confirmed receipt of the two coffins, and the IDF and Hamas both separately confirmed the transfer had taken place. It followed the return of three bodies to Israel by Hamas overnight. They were named as Uriel Baruch, Tamir Nimrodi and Eitan Levi – but Israel said a fourth body was not one of the hostages. Their funerals are being held in Israel.
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With that, Hamas said it had handed over all the remains it was able to reach, and said it would need extensive efforts and special equipment to find and recover the remaining bodies among the ruins of Gaza. Per the ceasefire agreement, the deadline for all the living and dead hostages to be handed over expired on Monday. Hamas had previously indicated that locating some of the remains would be difficult and take longer as not all burial sites are known, locating and accessing them is difficult amid the sea of rubble, and some bodies may be in areas it no longer controls. The Red Cross has also said the task represents a “massive challenge” that could take days or weeks – and that there was a possibility some may never be found. US vice-president JD Vance also acknowledged on Sunday that the difficulties meant some of the bodies might never be recovered.
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On that, Israel has reportedly shared intelligence with the US claiming that Hamas has access to more bodies than it claims. Citing two Israeli officials and one US official, Axios reported that Israel told the US Hamas was not doing enough to recover the bodies of the remaining dead Israeli hostages, and that the Gaza deal cannot move into the next phase until that changes. Per Axios’s report: “Both Israeli and US officials close to the process are concerned that elements within the Netanyahu government – particularly ultranationalist ministers Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir – will use the issue of hostage remains to undermine the deal (which they oppose) and push for the resumption of the war.” “Hamas will give all the bodies back, but it is going to take time. We will continue working on it but we can’t allow the deal to collapse,” a US official told Axios.
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But Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz has instructed the military to prepare a comprehensive plan to “defeat Hamas” in Gaza if the war is renewed, a statement from his office read. The plan would apply if Hamas “refuses to implement President Trump’s plan, and it becomes necessary to resume fighting”, according to the statement.
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Indeed, the Israeli government earlier said there would be no compromises on the return of dead hostages, and would “spare no effort until our fallen hostages return”. It has threatened to halt the opening of the Rafah crossing on Thursday to continue to restrict desperately needed humanitarian aid entering Gaza, actions which have been criticised as “outrageous” by aid agencies. As trucks loaded up with aid lined up on the Egyptian side on Wednesday, the key crossing remained closed.
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Aid agencies warned the humanitarian situation on the ground remains at crisis point despite being days into the ceasefire. Unicef said it is still waiting for aid deliveries to surge and Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and its top emergency relief coordinator, told AFP that what had entered so far was just “a fraction of what’’s needed”. He told Reuters that thousands of humanitarian vehicles must enter weekly to avert further catastrophe. “We have 190,000 metric tons of provisions on the borders waiting to go in and we’re determined to deliver. That’s essential life-saving food and nutrition,” he said.
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Israel returned the bodies of 45 Palestinians and work to identify them is underway in Gaza. It takes the total to 90 so far. The BBC reported that footage filmed at Nasser hospital’s mortuary appeared to show the body of a blindfolded man, while another body appeared to have marks around the wrists and ankles. Israel has previously rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of detainees
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A senior US military leader called on Hamas to stop violence against civilians and to “disarm without delay”, as the militant group reasserts itself by deploying security forces and executing those it deems collaborators with Israel. It represents slightly mixed messaging from the US after Donald Trump appeared to give Hamas the green light to temporarily police Gaza. He told reporters on Tuesday that Hamas had killed “a number of gang members” which he said did not bother him. On Wednesday Trump admitted that it could be innocent civilians too, saying “it could be gangs plus”…..
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