Trump threatens ‘to go in and kill’ Hamas in Gaza over internal clashes
Statement appears to signal about-face from US president, who previously backed Hamas’s crackdown on Gaza gangs.
US President Donald Trump holds a signed document during a summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt to support ending the war in Gaza, October 13 [File: Suzanne Plunkett/Pool via AP]
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to break the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas if the Palestinian group continues to target gangs and alleged Israeli collaborators in Gaza.
“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,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The statement appears to signal an about-face from Trump, who earlier this week expressed support for Hamas’s crackdown on gangs in the Palestinian territory.
“They did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad, very, very bad gangs,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “And they did take them out, and they killed a number of gang members. And that didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you. That’s OK.”
There have been deadly clashes reported between Hamas and armed clan members in Gaza, who have been accused of looting humanitarian aid and working for Israel.
After the fighting on Sunday, the Interior Ministry in Gaza issued general amnesty for gang members who did not participate in the bloodshed.
In June, Israeli officials admitted to arming Gaza gangs, some of which have ties to ISIL (ISIS), in an effort to destabilise Hamas.
On Sunday, gunmen from a Gaza gang linked to Israel killed prominent Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi, according to local forces.
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