Trump says Israel could resume Gaza operations if Hamas breaks ceasefire

15 October 2025 , 20:51

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On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he would consider letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restart military operations in Gaza if Hamas fails to honor its side of the ceasefire, telling CNN that Israeli forces could return to the streets “the moment I give the word.”

“What’s happening with Hamas – that will be sorted out quickly,” the president said during a short phone call.

Trump’s remarks come amid Israeli accusations that Hamas, a group labeled a terrorist organization by the US government, is violating the agreement requiring it to return hostages, living and dead, as part of ending the fighting in Gaza. The dispute has fueled growing anger in Israel, where officials have told the UN that humanitarian aid shipments expected to enter Gaza will be curtailed or delayed because so few deceased hostages have been returned. Still, the fragile ceasefire has held.

Item 4 of Trump’s 20-point peace plan reads, “Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.” As of Wednesday morning, all 20 living Israeli hostages had been returned to Israel. However, Hamas had delivered the bodies of only four people, and the Israeli military has said that one of them does not belong to an Israeli hostage. Four to five more bodies are expected to be returned this evening, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Wednesday.

Trump emphasized that freeing the living hostages was significant in its own right. “Securing the release of those 20 hostages was paramount,” the US president said.

In the days after the hostage release, fighting has broken out between Hamas and rival groups, including an incident that appeared to culminate in a public execution. Trump has previously warned that Hamas must disarm or “we will disarm them.” His 20-point plan envisions a future in which Hamas agrees to play no role in Gaza’s governance, with the territory demilitarized and under independent monitoring. But the administration has acknowledged that it still needs to do more to determine Gaza’s future, and that the agreement leading to the hostage release is only Phase 1.

Trump told CNN that right now, Hamas is “going in and clearing out the gangs, violent gangs.”

“I’m looking into it,” he said when asked if it was possible that Hamas was executing innocent Palestinians. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. It could be gangs plus,” he said.

Point 6 of the president’s 20-point peace plan states, “Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.”

CNN asked the president what would happen if Hamas refuses to disarm.

Even so, the president sounded optimistic about long-term prospects for peace, particularly given the strong support of other countries in the region.

“Fifty-nine countries are part of this,” he said of the ceasefire deal, apparently referring to those countries who attended a ceremony in Egypt to sign a document of high-level principles titled the “Trump Peace Agreement” or expressed statements of support. “We’ve never seen anything like this. Now it’s all coming together. They want to be part of the Abraham Accords. Now that Iran isn’t a problem.”

Trump also said he was continuing efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday.

“I’m working hard on the Russian thing,” Trump said. He mused about which would be the bigger accomplishment – peace in the Middle East or between Russia and Ukraine. Your reporter noted that the Middle East conflict has historically been more difficult to resolve.

“True,” the president replied. “One’s been going on for three years, the other for three thousand.”

During the brief call, the president also criticized the news media – specifically objecting to a recent interview of Vice President JD Vance by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos – while expressing hope that CBS News will now become “fairer” under new management. “I don’t expect them to become like Fox,” he said, “just fair.” CNN requested a one-on-one, sit-down interview with Trump in person – something he has not agreed to do since 2016 – and he said he would consider it.

“I’ll think about it,” Trump responded. “Israel will be back on those streets as soon as I give the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap out of them, they’d do it.”

“I had to hold them back,” the president said of the Israel Defense Forces and Netanyahu administration. “I had it out with Bibi.”