October 17, 2025 | 05:41 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - United States President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy the Palestinian militant group Hamas if the violence in the Gaza Strip does not cease. The threat is seen as potentially ending the newly agreed-upon ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
"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, October 16, 2025.
According to NDTV's report, the warning came after Trump had previously responded to the violence in Gaza since the ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement took effect last week. Earlier on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, he downplayed Hamas' actions against armed groups allegedly supported by Israel in Gaza.
"They did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad, very, very bad gangs," said Trump. "And they did take them out, and they killed a number of gang members. And that didn’t bother me much."
Inter-Gang Conflict and Alleged Role of Israel
According to Al Jazeera, deadly clashes have occurred in Gaza between Hamas and an armed group from a large family accused of looting humanitarian aid and working for Israel. After the fighting on the last Sunday, October 12, 2025, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza announced amnesty for gang members not involved in the bloodshed.
In June 2025, Israeli officials admitted to arming some groups in Gaza, some of which had ties to ISIS, in an effort to weaken Hamas' power.
On Sunday, an armed group allegedly linked to Israel was also reported to have killed Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Hamas for the alleged execution of individuals accused of collaborating with Israel. A statement from his office said, "What has happened is a crime, a flagrant violation of human rights, and a serious attack on the principle of the rule of law."
Trump Affirms the U.S. Will Not Intervene Directly
Despite issuing strong threats, Trump emphasized that the United States military will not be directly involved in Gaza.
"It’s not going to be us. We won’t have to. There are people very close, very nearby that will go in and they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices," he said.
Apart from the inter-gang clashes, Trump pressured Hamas to promptly disarm and cease its political role in Gaza, in line with the ceasefire plan proposed by the United States.
"They will disarm, and if they don't do so, we will disarm them, and it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently," said Trump.
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