‘If we have to, they'll be eradicated’: Trump issues stark warning to Hamas

Washington: US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would give Hamas a "little chance" to honor the Gaza truce deal with Israel but warned the group would be "eradicated" if it fails to do so.

"We made a deal with Hamas that they're going to be very good, they're going to behave. And if they're not, we're going to go and we're going to eradicate them. If we have to, they'll be eradicated,” Trump told reporters.

Meanwhile, two of the United States' top envoys to the Middle East met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

The sit-down came as Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza for aid shipments, a security official and a humanitarian source said, after the entry point was closed briefly on Sunday following the killing of two Israeli soldiers.

In response, Israel carried out dozens of strikes targeting Hamas across Gaza -- using 153 tonnes of bombs, according to Netanyahu -- and accused the militant group of "a blatant violation" of the truce, an accusation it denied.

Both sides insisted that they remained committed to the ceasefire and US President Donald Trump, who helped broker the deal, told reporters in Washington that as far as he was concerned, it was still in effect. AFP