US President Donald Trump said that Hamas's violation of the "ceasefire in Gaza would be taken care of quickly" in comments to the press on Monday.
"They’re going to be nice, and if they’re not... we're going to eradicate them if we have to," he said ahead of meetings with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "They'll be eradicated — and they know that."
He added that at this time, he has not told Israel to resume strikes in Gaza and that the US was "taking lots of steps to maintain ceasefire."
Vance to visit Israel
This comes ahead of US Vice President JD Vance's Tuesday visit to Israel. He will visit alongside US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump administration adviser Jared Kushner.
The US officials are expected to discuss transitioning into the second phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan.
No negotiations will begin on phase two of Trump’s plan until Hamas returns all the bodies of the kidnapped fallen soldiers, senior officials told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.