US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Israeli forces could return to Gaza on his command if Hamas compromises the ceasefire deal.Trump said that he could deploy the IDF “as soon as he says the word” if Hamas fails to follow through on the ceasefire agreement, reports CNN.“What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly,” Trump said in a brief telephone call. He was referring to accusations by Israel that Hamas has not fully complied with the agreement to hand over hostages, both living and deceased.The 20-point peace plan outlined by Trump stated, “Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.” As of Wednesday morning, all 20 living Israeli hostages had been released, while only four bodies had been returned. The Israeli military reported that one of the bodies did not belong to an Israeli hostage. “Getting those 20 hostages out was paramount,” Trump said.Violent clashes have continued in Gaza, including incidents of public executions, as Hamas confronts rival groups. Trump warned that Hamas must disarm, or “we will disarm them.” His peace plan also proposes that Hamas should have no role in governing Gaza, which would be demilitarised and monitored independently.Trump said, “I’m doing research on it,” when asked whether Hamas may be executing innocent Palestinians. “We’ll find out about it. It could be gangs plus.”When asked about the consequences if Hamas refuses to disarm, Trump said, “I think about it. Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap out of them, they’d do that.” He added that he had previously restrained the Israeli military. “I had to hold them back. I had it out with Bibi.”Trump hoped for long-term peace, noting strong international support. “Fifty-nine countries are part of this,” he said, referring to the summit in Egypt where countries signed or supported the principles of the “Trump Peace Agreement.”The MAGA leader also touched on other global issues, saying he continues to work on ending the Russian war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday.“I’m working hard on the Russian thing,” Trump said. “One’s been going on for three years, the other three thousand.”
