JERUSALEM/CAIRO: U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Hamas on Tuesday with “FAST, FURIOUS & BRUTAL” force if it does not “do what is right” as he pushes for the next, more complex, stage of a Gaza ceasefire that has already been repeatedly tested.
Increasing the pressure on the Hamas, Trump said in a social media post that numerous U.S. allies had said they would welcome the chance to go into Gaza and hit Hamas but he had told them and Israel “not yet”.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated breaches of the truce since it was signed eight days ago, with flashes of violence and recriminations over the pace of returning hostage bodies, bringing in aid and opening borders.
VANCE IS VISITING ISRAEL
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who arrived on Tuesday, was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for talks Israel said would focus on security challenges and political opportunities.
Vance in Israel to try to shore up Gaza ceasefire and push to next phase
Those are expected to focus on Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan that will require moving beyond the existing, shaky ceasefire, to much more difficult steps including the disarmament of Hamas and a path towards a Palestinian state.
The trip follows Monday’s talks between Netanyahu and U.S. envoys Steven Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and comes as Hamas meets mediators in Cairo.
Israel is pressing for stronger assurances on Hamas disarming – a step to which the group has so far refused to commit – said a source briefed on the matter.
Hamas’ Cairo talks, led by the group’s exiled leader Khalil al-Hayya, are also looking at prospects for the next phase of the truce and post-war arrangements in Gaza as well as stabilising the existing ceasefire.
The head of intelligence for key Gaza mediator Egypt met Netanyahu earlier on Tuesday to discuss advancing the ceasefire plan and other issues, Israel said. The intelligence chief, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, will later meet Witkoff, Egyptian television reported.
Underscoring the fragility of the truce, Qatar, another of the mediators, on Tuesday accused Israel of “continuous violations”. It and Turkey, which has used its role to bolster its regional position, have been key interlocutors with Hamas.
FUTURE ROLE OF HAMAS?
Trump’s plan called for the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian committee overseen by an international board with Hamas taking no role in governance.
Gaza’s civil defence says four killed by Israeli fire
A Palestinian official close to the talks said Hamas encouraged the formation of such a committee to run Gaza without any of its representatives, but with the consent of the group as well as the Palestinian Authority and other factions.
Last week, senior Hamas official Mohammed Nazzal told Reuters the group expected to maintain a security role on the ground in Gaza during an undefined interim period.
Hamas last week battled rival gangs on the streets in Gaza and publicly executed men it accused of having collaborated with Israel. Trump condoned the killings but the U.S. military’s Middle East command urged Hamas to stop violence “without delay”.
Vance was expected to visit the headquarters of joint forces led by the U.S. military and meant to help with Gaza stabilisation efforts.
RETURN OF BODIES AND AID DELIVERIES
Speaking to Egyptian television late on Monday, Hayya reaffirmed the group’s compliance with the truce and said it would fulfil its obligations in the first phase, including returning more bodies of hostages.
“Let their (hostages) bodies return to their families, and let the bodies of our martyrs return to their families to be buried in dignity,” he said.
Hamas released another hostage body late on Monday and said it would hand over two more late on Tuesday. That would leave another 13 bodies in Gaza. Israel believes Hamas could still return more bodies soon but has recognised that some remains would likely need a slower, more complex, process of location and retrieval.
Israel strikes Gaza and halts aid
Israel handed back another 15 Palestinian bodies on Tuesday, local health authorities said, taking the total it has returned to Gaza to 165.
Inside the enclave on Tuesday, more aid was flowing in through two Israeli-controlled crossings, Palestinian and U.N. officials said.
However, with Gaza residents facing catastrophic conditions, aid agencies have said far more needs to be brought in.
The U.N. World Food Programme said supplies were ramping up but fell far short of its daily target of 2,000 tons, saying this was because only two crossings into Gaza were open. It said none had reached the famine-hit north of Gaza yet.
Violence in Gaza since the truce has mostly focused been around the “yellow line” demarcating Israel’s military pullback. On Tuesday Israel’s public Kan radio reported troops had killed a person crossing the line and advancing towards them.
Palestinians near the line, running across devastated areas close to major cities, have said it is not clearly marked and hard to know where the exclusion zone begins. Israeli bulldozers began placing yellow concrete blocks along the route on Monday.
The Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday at least seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave over the previous 24 hours, bringing to 68,229 the total number killed since the war began.
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