Trump and Netanyahu vow to disarm Hamas, peacefully of forcefully

Hamas disarmament, as mentioned in Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan, is not a mere expressed desire, but rather a serious commitment. Both the US and Israel are determined to achieve this objective, one way or the other.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the aforementioned goal during a televised address. He warned that “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized… If this is achieved the easy way, so much the better. And if not, it will be achieved the hard way.”

Similarly, US President Donald Trump claimed that he had communicated to Hamas that the group must disarm or it will be forced to. Trump, during a meeting with his Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei in the White House, warned as well that “if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently.”

Hamas, which agreed to the peace plan, has refused to disarm until the withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza and the emergence of an independent Palestinian state. However, with mounting international and regional pressure, it remains highly unlikely that Hamas will be able to retain its weapons (especially with growing local resentment and recent clashes with Palestinian armed clans).