US President Donald Trump on Thursday issued another stern warning to Hamas, as it continues to stall on the return of bodies of hostages.
“It's a tough neighborhood, we know that. We have a commitment from them, and I assume they're going to honor that commitment. I hope they do, and I understand they brought back some additional bodies today,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“It's a tough situation. They brought back bodies today, as you probably know. But they also said they're going to behave. We're going to find out if they behave. If they behave, good. If they don't behave, we'll take care of it,” he warned.
This warning comes hours after Trump warned in a post on Truth Social that Hamas was violating the ceasefire agreement by killing people in Gaza and that Hamas members would themselves be killed if they do not stop the killing.
"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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he wrote.
Trump told CNN on Wednesday that Israel may resume its military operations in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold the terms of the current ceasefire, stating Israeli forces could return to action "as soon as I say the word."
"What’s going on with Hamas - that’ll be straightened out quickly," the President told the network during a brief telephone interview.
Hamas has been failing to comply with a key provision of the ceasefire agreement, which requires the group to release both living and deceased hostages. While all 20 living hostages have been returned, only nine bodies have been handed over.
On Wednesday night, Hamas claimed that there are no more deceased hostages in its possession.
"We met our end of the agreement, we released all the living hostages, and what we have as far as deceased hostages. Regarding the rest, we will need great efforts and special tools to find them," the organization claimed in a statement.