WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump threatened to "eradicate" Hamas if it continues to violate a ceasefire deal the United States helped broker between the militant group and Israel.

Trump made the comments on Oct. 20 as a flare-up in fighting over the weekend threatened to upend the 10-day-old agreement. Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza on Oct. 19 in retaliation to a Hamas assault that Israeli officials said killed two soldiers.

"We made a deal with Hamas that they're going to be very good, they're going to behave, they're going to be nice," Trump said in response to a question from a reporter. "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. And they know that."

Trump said his threat would not mean United States troops on the ground in the Middle East. He pointed instead to potential military action from other nations.

"We don't need to because we have many countries, as you know, (that) signed on to this deal," he said. "We've had countries calling me when they saw some of the killing with Hamas, saying, 'We'd love to go and take care of the situation ourselves.'"

Trump also suggested he could ask Israel to wipe out Hamas. "Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to go in," the president said. "I could tell them, 'Go in and take care of it.' But right now, we haven't said that."

Vice President JD Vance is heading to Israel on Oct. 20 to push for the implementation of the second phase of a fragile peace deal. In the days since the peace deal was signed, Hamas has quickly regained control of Gaza and not released the remains of all deceased hostages as previously promised.

The second phase of Trump's peace plan involves the long-term governance of Gaza and disarmament of Hamas after the first phase centered on the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the pullback of Israeli troops, increased aid into Gaza and a ceasefire by the two sides.

The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted dozens of Hamas targets across Gaza on Oct. 19 after an initial wave of strikes in the Rafah area of southern Gaza in response to the attack on Israeli soldiers. Israel also temporarily halted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

At least 28 people in Gaza were killed by the Israeli attacks, according to Reuters.

Hamas' armed wing, which has refused to commit to disarmament, said it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and had not been in contact with groups there since March. Hamas has also accused Israel of committing a series of violations that it says killed 46 people and stopped essential supplies from reaching the enclave.

Trump said he believes the Hamas attack on Israeli soldiers was not ordered by Hamas leadership but was instead the result of a "rebellion" among the militants.

"This is a violent group. You've probably noticed over the last 100 years," Trump said. "They got very rambunctious, and they did things that they shouldn't be doing. And if they keep doing it, then we're going to go in and straighten it out."

"And it will happen very quickly and pretty violently, unfortunately," the president added.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Reuters; Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump threatens to 'eradicate' Hamas if it doesn't uphold ceasefire with Israel

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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