Trump threatens Hamas amid push for second phase of fragile Gaza ceasefire

The United States increased pressure on Hamas on Tuesday to disarm in the next phase of an already fragile Gaza ceasefire as President Donald Trump pushed to cement an end to the devastating conflict. In a visit to Israel, Vice-President JD Vance said the ceasefire plan was going better than expected but warned the Palestinian militant group that it would be obliterated if it did not cooperate, echoing a Trump threat earlier in the day of "fast, furious and brutal force".

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated breaches of the truce since it was signed eight days ago, with flashes of violence and recriminations over the pace of returning hostage bodies, bringing in aid and opening borders.

With the existing truce already shaky, the US and mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey are trying to push towards the far more complicated second phase of talks that asks each side to make concessions that have previously torpedoed peacemaking. Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan demands the disarmament of Hamas, to which the group has so far refused to agree, a concurrent Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a path towards a Palestinian state. Vance, who will meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, said he was optimistic about the truce, and held out the prospect of more Gulf states eventually seeking to normalise ties with Israel. But he moved to modify expectations for a rapid return of the bodies of all hostages, a key Israeli demand, and said a full realisation of the ceasefire plan would take a lot of work and "a very, very long time".

Vance, who was visiting a military base in southern Israel where US troops are monitoring the truce, said the US, Israel and Gulf states were all agreed that though Hamas fighters could receive clemency, the group would have to disarm.

"If Hamas doesn't cooperate, as the president of the United States has said, Hamas is going to be obliterated," Vance warned.