Trump Warns Hamas Will Be 'Eradicated' If Ceasefire Breached

US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Hamas that it would be “eradicated” if it breaches the ceasefire deal with Israel, while saying he would allow the group a chance to honour the truce.

Vice‑President J.D. Vance travelled to Israel shortly after Mr Trump’s remarks, joining other senior US envoys amid fresh violence that threatened to undermine the fragile agreement.

“We made a deal with Hamas — they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House. “And if they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them, if we have to. They’ll be eradicated, and they know that.”

The US-brokered agreement, reached nearly two weeks ago, has repeatedly come under strain as Israel accuses Hamas of delaying the handover of deceased hostages and of launching attacks.

Hamas’s top negotiator said the group remained committed to the ceasefire, but that extracting bodies had proven “extremely difficult” and that efforts to do so were ongoing. “The Gaza agreement will hold, because we want it to and our will to abide by it is strong,” he said.

Mr Trump also urged Hamas to halt public executions of rivals and alleged collaborators as it seeks to reassert control in Gaza. He insisted, however, that American forces would not directly confront Hamas, saying dozens of countries that have agreed to join an international stabilisation force would “love to go in.”

“In addition, Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to,” he said. “But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance, and hopefully there will be a little less violence.”

He added a blunt warning about renewed violence: “They’re violent people. They got very rambunctious and they did things that they shouldn’t be doing, and 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.”

Mr Trump said Hamas was now weaker than before, and suggested its regional backer Iran was unlikely to intervene following strikes earlier this year. “They don’t have the backing of really anybody anymore. They have to be good, and if they’re not good, they’ll be eradicated,” he said.

Senior US envoys and advisers met Israel’s leadership to discuss developments and coordination. Mr Vance was due to hold further talks in Jerusalem with Israeli officials.