Trump says Hamas must disarm or be disarmed, perhaps violently

(Corrects paragraph 8 to say Trump "downplayed" Hamas's killings, not "endorsed")

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had communicated to Hamas that the militant group must disarm or it will be forced to.

On Monday, Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees under a ceasefire deal brokered by Trump, but Hamas has not publicly committed to downing its weapons.

"If they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently," Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Argentine President Javier Milei.

Trump said he communicated this to Hamas and they had agreed to disarm, as his 20-point peace proposal stated.

"I spoke to Hamas, and I said, you're going to disarm, right? Yes, sir, we're going to disarm. That's what they told me," Trump said, later clarifying that he passed the message through intermediaries.

The outlook for Trump's peace plan has darkened since he returned from a visit to Israel and Egypt on Monday.

Israel restricted aid into Gaza and kept the enclave's border shut on Tuesday, while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street.

Trump downplayed Hamas killing members of other gangs as it reasserts its grip on security.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Katharine Jackson and Simon Lewis; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Bill Berkrot)

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