United States President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Hamas on Thursday, October 16, after a video emerged showing a public execution in Gaza after an agreement was reached with Israel to end the war. The video, which sparked international outrage, prompted Trump to warn the militant group that if such killings continued, the US “will have no choice but to kill Hamas.”
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.
The grim warning from Donald Trump came after he previously downplayed internal violence in the territory since a ceasefire came into effect last week.
Trump previously said Hamas had taken down “a couple of gangs that were very bad” and killed a number of gang members. “To be honest with you, it didn’t bother me much,” the US president said.
He also threatened Hamas that he would allow Benjamin Netanyahu to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas did not live up to its end of the ceasefire agreement. “Israel will be back in those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and beat the crap out of them, they would,” Trump told CNN.
Intervention and executions in Gaza
Hamas posted a video on its official channel showing the street execution of eight blindfolded and kneeling suspects, calling them “collaborators and outlaws”.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ security unit is conducting operations against armed clans and gangs, some of which are said to be backed by Israel.
Since a ceasefire agreed by both Hamas and Israel, Palestinian militants have launched a crackdown and executed alleged collaborators, even as US President Donald Trump vowed to disarm the group.
The footage, apparently from Monday evening, emerged as armed clashes broke out between various Hamas security forces and armed Palestinian clans in parts of the territory, the fifth day of a US-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
In the north of the territory, as Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza City, the black-masked armed police of the Hamas government resumed street patrols.
The video of the execution drew worldwide condemnation in particular, as France accused the Palestinian militant group of carrying out “summary executions” in Gaza following a ceasefire with Israel and Germany, which it described as acts of terrorism against the population.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the war will continue until Hamas is dismantled, while Donald Trump’s cease-fire plan calls for Hamas to disarm and hand over powers to an internationally controlled body. The body is just settling down.
