Trump Issues Warning to Hamas: ‘Hell to Pay’ If Disarmament Fails After Meeting with Netanyahu
Donald Trump cautioned that Hamas will face “hell to pay” should it refuse to disarm, while showing strong backing for Benjamin Netanyahu during their discussion in Florida. In a display of mutual respect, Netanyahu declared that the US president would receive the Israel Prize, the nation’s most prestigious civilian award, which has never been granted to a non-Israeli since its creation in the 1950s. Netanyahu’s visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate coincided with a renewed effort from Washington officials to extract concessions from Israel for progress toward the next phase of a Gaza peace initiative, which had paused the intense two-year-long conflict in October. When questioned by reporters about whether he and Netanyahu had addressed the possibility of Israel withdrawing troops before Hamas completed its disarmament, Trump responded: “If they don’t disarm as they agreed to do – they agreed to it – then there’ll be hell to pay for them and we don’t want that, we’re not looking for that. But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.” He framed the topic of Israel’s troop withdrawal as “a separate issue,” adding simply: “We’ll talk about that.”
Last week, Axios, a US news source, reported that the Trump administration was eager to announce the Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the ISF as quickly as possible, expressing frustration as “Netanyahu has taken steps to undermine the fragile ceasefire and stall the peace process.” Nevertheless, Trump appeared unfazed after the Monday meeting. He remarked that he was “not concerned about anything that Israel is doing” and confirmed that “Israel has lived up to the plan, 100%.” He consistently held Hamas accountable, stating “it’ll be horrible for them” if they failed to disarm. “It’s going to be really, really bad for them, and I don’t want that to occur. But they made an agreement that they were going to disarm. And you couldn’t blame Israel,” he said. Trump asserted that other nations supporting the peace arrangement would “go in and wipe out Hamas” if it does not adhere to its commitments.
The two leaders participated in a lunch meeting at Mar-a-Lago alongside their respective delegations. Israeli officials and analysts indicated that Netanyahu would urge Trump for Hamas to return the remains of the last Israeli hostage still in Gaza before proceeding to subsequent stages of the stalled ceasefire. Prior to their meeting, Trump inaccurately claimed that “just about” every hostage was released due to his actions and his administration, while asserting that “none” were freed during Joe Biden’s presidency. However, it was reported by the Snopes fact-checking site that Hamas released a total of 138 hostages through agreements facilitated by Biden’s administration. The family of the last individual whose remains have not been returned, Ran Gvili, has joined Netanyahu’s visiting group and will meet with officials in Washington later this week.
An Israeli source close to Netanyahu informed Reuters that the prime minister would insist on Hamas returning the remains of all hostages in Gaza, as stipulated under the ceasefire agreement, before advancing to the next stages of Trump’s strategy. Earlier this month, a rally took place in Tel Aviv, where people demanded the return of Ran Gvili’s remains. Photograph: Maya Levin/AP. The second phase of the peace initiative proposes an interim authority composed of non-aligned Palestinian technocrats to govern Palestinian territories, alongside an international stabilisation force (ISF) comprising thousands of troops to be deployed. Israel has considerable reservations regarding both proposals. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer, faced severe injuries and was subsequently abducted during the October 2023 Hamas incursion into Israel which sparked the conflict. It remains uncertain whether he succumbed to his injuries during the raid or in Gaza. A large crowd gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand that Israel not make concessions to further the ceasefire deal until his remains are returned.
Lianne Pollak-David, a former Israeli military intelligence officer and peace negotiator in the prime minister’s office, remarked that the return of Gvili’s remains is a critical issue. “Netanyahu and the Israelis as a people are simply not going to accept this,” she stated. Since October, Hamas has released 20 living hostages and returned the bodies of 27 deceased hostages; some analysts perceive the demand for Gvili’s remains as a tactic to delay the peace process, allowing Israeli forces to maintain their position in the 53% of Gaza they control. Daniel Levy, a UK-based analyst and former Israeli peace negotiator, asserted that Netanyahu has no plans to pull back further from Gaza or permit any international forces that might hinder Israeli military engagement. “He feels he has a number of cards to play yet, and the remains of Gvili is the easiest one to play now but there are others,” Levy articulated.
Hamas continues to possess large quantities of small arms but has only a limited amount of heavy weaponry that enabled its unexpected assault into southern Israel in 2023, resulting in 1,200 fatalities, primarily civilians, and 250 kidnappings. Palestinians receive donated food at a temporary camp for displaced individuals located on the beach near Gaza City. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP. Over 70,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, lost their lives in the subsequent Israeli offensive, reducing extensive areas of Gaza to ruins. Approximately 400 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire since the October ceasefire took effect. In recent weeks, Hamas has effectively asserted its control over the areas of Gaza it governs through a series of executions, raids, and beatings aimed at rival factions, individuals collaborating with Israel, and criminal organizations. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are now believed to inhabit regions under Hamas control. The Islamist militant group has proposed several measures to allow some of its weapons to be stored but has rejected the notion of complete disarmament.
For Netanyahu, who is facing an election within ten months, the potential of Iran revitalizing its nuclear program in the aftermath of its brief conflict with Israel and the United States this summer, along with advancing its ballistic missile capabilities, is crucial. Trump had previously proclaimed that Iran’s nuclear capacities were “completely and fully obliterated.” However, on Monday, he stated: “I hope they’re not trying to build up again because if they are, we’re going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup.” The president continued: “Iran may be behaving poorly. It hasn’t been confirmed. But if it’s confirmed, look, they know the consequences will be very powerful, perhaps more powerful than the last time.” When pressed for proof, he remarked: “This is just what we hear, but typically, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” The Israeli prime minister may be anticipating a political advantage from his recent interaction with Trump, whom he again commended as Israel’s greatest ally. Netanyahu noted: “We decided to break a convention – or create a new one – and that is to bestow the Israel prize, which in nearly our 80 years we’ve yet to award to a non-Israeli, and we’re going to award it this year to President Trump … for his tremendous contributions to Israel and the Jewish people.” This was a second consolation prize for Trump, who missed out on this year’s Nobel Peace Prize but was awarded a Fifa Peace Prize—dismissed by critics as a cynical maneuver by the governing body of world football to gain favor.
As a gesture of reciprocation, Trump stated he had spoken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who mentioned that a pardon for Netanyahu in his prolonged corruption case was “on its way.” Trump remarked: “He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon?” When inquired about Trump’s statements, Herzog’s office clarified that the Israeli president had not conversed with Trump since a pardon request was submitted several weeks prior, Reuters reported.
Published: 2025-12-29 23:00:00
source: www.theguardian.com
