United States President Donald Trump on Thursday provided an update as the second phase of ceasefire between Israel and Hamas begins.
The US President said that it “looks like” Hamas is willing to give up weapons, something that has not yet been confirmed by the group yet. “A lot of people said they’ll never disarm. It looks like they’re going to disarm,” AFP cited Trump as saying in a cabinet meeting.
This came after Trump asked his special envoy Steve Witkoff, sitting in the side of the room, to provide an update on the Middle East.
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Witkoff said that Hamas was going to demilitarize, adding, “We’ve got the terrorists out of there…” “They’re going to give it up. They’re going to give up the AK-47s,” AFP cited Witkoff as saying to Trump. “They will because they have no choice,” the special envoy added.
Trump highlights Hamas’ cooperation in return of hostages
Meanwhile, Trump has also highlighted Hamas’ cooperation during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, wherein bodies of Israeli hostages were returned.
The body of the last Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, was brought back by the Israeli forces earlier this week.
“They did help us with those bodies, getting them back, and that family is so grateful,” the US President said, according to AFP. Hamas has also said that the return of Gvili’s remains showed the group’s commitment to the ceasefire.
However, so far, the group has not confirmed whether it would be following through with disarmament. While Hamas has previously said that disarmament is a red line, they have signalled that they would be open to handing over weapons to a Palestinian governing authority, according to the AFP report.
