The statement appeared to signal an about-face by the US president, who had previously supported Hamas' crackdown on Gaza gangs.
Published on October 16, 2025
US President Donald Trump has threatened to break the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas if the Palestinian group continues targeting suspected Israeli gangs and collaborators in Gaza.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the agreement, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump wrote on social media on Thursday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter! »
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The statement appeared to signal an about-face by Trump, who earlier this week expressed support for Hamas' crackdown on gangs in the Palestinian territory.
“They took out some gangs that were very, very, very bad,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “And they took them out and they killed a number of gang members. And it didn't bother me much, to be honest with you. It's no big deal.”
Deadly clashes took place in Gaza between Hamas and members of armed clans, accused of looting humanitarian aid and working for Israel.
After Sunday's fighting, Gaza's Interior Ministry granted a general amnesty to gang members who did not participate in the bloodshed.
In June, Israeli officials admitted to arming Gaza gangs, some of which have links to ISIL (ISIS), in an effort to destabilize Hamas.
Gunmen from an Israel-linked Gaza gang killed a prominent Palestinian journalist on Sunday Saleh Aljafarawidepending on local forces.
Earlier this week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Hamas over accusations that the group executed suspected Israeli collaborators, calling the alleged killings a “heinous crime.”
“What happened represents a crime, a flagrant violation of human rights and a serious attack on the principle of the rule of law,” Abbas’ office said in a statement.
Under Trump's ceasefire plan, Hamas would disarm and end any role in governing Gaza. But it's unclear whether the group agreed to those terms.
The truce has largely held since it came into force on Saturday. But Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement, killing Palestinians daily under the pretext that they were approaching areas under the control of the Israeli army, which are not clearly marked.
Israel also threatened to once again restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza, accusing Hamas of failing to return all the bodies of captives it was holding. And he refused to open the Rafah crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Egypt, in order to facilitate entry and exit from the territory.
Trump has welcomed the ceasefire as the dawn of a “new Middle East”, but its latest threat casts doubt on the durability of the truce, in a context of continued Israeli occupation and lack of clarity on the future governance of Gaza.
