President Donald Trump warned Monday that Hamas must disarm within a “very short period of time” under the terms of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, signaling severe consequences if the militant group fails to comply.
“They’re going to be given a very short period of time to disarm. And we’ll see how that works out,” Trump said during a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has previously worked on Middle East peace efforts, will oversee Hamas’s compliance with the agreement.
“But if they don’t disarm as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, then there will be hell to pay for them,” Trump said. “And we don’t want that. We’re not looking for that.”
Pressed on what would happen if Hamas failed to disarm, Trump said the outcome would be “horrible for them.” He added that other countries have offered to take action against Hamas, though he did not identify which nations.
A ceasefire framework agreed to in October requires Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, to disarm as a condition for long-term peace with Israel.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who recently traveled to Israel, warned Sunday that Hamas is not honoring the agreement.
“What did I learn on this trip? That Hamas is not disarming. They’re rearming,” Graham said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” citing Israeli and U.S. officials. “Hamas is not abandoning power. They’re consolidating power.”
Trump met with Netanyahu earlier Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Following a lunch meeting, Trump said the two leaders were largely aligned on their approach moving forward.
“I think we came to a lot of conclusions, and there’s very little difference in what we’re looking at and where we want to be,” Trump said.
