President Donald Trump issued a warning to Hamas on Thursday as his administration’s fragile Gaza cease fire deal faces significant strain.
“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,” he wrote on Truth Social. Trump appeared to be referencing reports that Hamas fighters have been targeting rival groups and alleged Israeli collaborators in Gaza after the cease-fire was set to take effect.
When asked by reporters about who he was referring to, Trump offered no explanation but reiterated the threat: “We’re going to find out if they behave good, if they don’t, we will be able to take care of it.” When asked what he meant by “we,” he said, “It is not going to be us.” Just a day earlier, U.S. officials said the Gaza cease-fire had entered “phase two,” with Washington shifting from brokering the truce to trying to make it last amid uncertainty over Hamas’ compliance and the risk of Israel resuming fighting.
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Two senior U.S. advisers outlined the administration’s next steps in a call with reporters, describing a fragile but active process aimed at stabilizing Gaza, expanding humanitarian aid and laying the groundwork for demilitarization and eventual reconstruction.
“Now that we got through the signing and the exchange of the hostages … we’ve entered into the next phase of the deal,” one senior U.S. adviser said.
The cease-fire’s stability has already come under strain, with Israel and Hamas trading accusations of violations and clashing over the slow handover of hostages’ bodies. Israel warned that it will resume fighting if Hamas violates the truce.
To date, all 20 living hostages are out, and though 10 bodies have been returned, 19 are still unclaimed. Hamas says it lacks the equipment to reach them.
One senior U.S. adviser acknowledged “hiccups in the implementation” but said, “So far, there does not seem to be any intent for the agreement not to be kept.” Another rejected claims that Hamas broke the deal, saying the group “did honor” the release of live hostages and that U.S. officials are “working closely with mediators” to recover the remaining bodies.
“No one’s getting left behind,” the adviser said. Another added that Turkey had offered “an 81-man team that is as expert as there is in body retrieval.”
Phase two, officials said, focuses on stabilization and reconstruction in areas free of Hamas control. “Aid is going in, but no rebuilding money will go into areas that Hamas controls,” one senior adviser said.
Demilitarization, they acknowledged, remains the most difficult goal. “It’s not realistic to think everyone’s just going to walk in, drop their arms and say, hey, there you go,” one adviser said. “But the sentiment from the Arab mediators and from Hamas is that they still want to continue to work together to find a way to do it.”
A small U.S. logistics team under U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) helps coordinate aid and stabilization efforts. Several Arab and Muslim nations, including Indonesia, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, have expressed interest in joining the international stabilization force.
The advisers still cautioned that progress will not be easy. “It’s a very, very complex process,” one said.”
Beyond security, U.S. officials said the next stage includes forming “a nonpolitical, technocratic Palestinian governance” to oversee reconstruction. “
They said a number of Palestinians, including those living abroad, have begun reaching out to take part in what is next for Gaza.
“Hamas is weaker than they’ve ever been, and they see the future starting to be different in Gaza,” one official said. “This is the first time that they believe there could be a new alternative created that’s not the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas.”
While senior U.S. advisers described cautious optimism about the deal’s next stage, some former diplomats warned that the hardest part may still lie ahead.
Former U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield called the recent progress “a significant accomplishment,” but said it represents only “the necessary day before that establishes the possibility, not certainty, but the possibility of the day after.”
He credited Trump and the “conjunction of critical regional Arab and regional parties applying pressure,” yet noted that Hamas’s actions since the cease-fire “do not lead one to be encouraged.”
The next phase of the plan is “quite ambitious,” he said, raising a central question: “Does Hamas intend to comply even with the provisions of phase one, or will they play games with this?”
“Hamas has demonstrated that it is the effective force on the ground wherever the IDF has withdrawn,” he said, warning that the group’s behavior could deter Arab and Muslim nations from joining the international stabilization force. “What Arab or Muslim party is going to place their boots, their troops, in the face of heavily armed Hamas already on the street?”
Satterfield also cautioned that reconstruction would collapse if Hamas remains armed.
Still, he acknowledged what makes this effort distinct from earlier attempts. “It is radically different, at least because it was a complete release of all the living hostages,” he said.
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