US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that "we will disarm" Hamas if the Palestinian militants refuse to do it themselves, as he called for the group to release the bodies of hostages in Gaza.

Trump's comments came the day after he swung through the Middle East to celebrate the Gaza ceasefire deal, with questions swirling about the next phases of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

"They're going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them," Trump told reporters at the White House about Hamas, hours after returning from Israel and Egypt.

"It will happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm."

Hamas has so far refused to disarm despite it being a key part of the next phase of Trump's 20-point plan for a ceasefi

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