Trump warns Hamas must 'behave or be eradicated'

Group hands over remains of dead hostage as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner land in Tel Aviv to salvage fragile ceasefire

- MAIRA BUTT ALEX CROFT

Donald Trump has warned Hamas to “behave or be eradicated”, after US envoys flew to the Middle East to salvage a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

The US president's stark warning came after a series of killings in the Gaza Strip threatened to derail the peace process that saw the 20 remaining living hostages finally freed last week. The Israeli military confirmed that the body of another dead captive had been received after it was handed over by Hamas yesterday evening, via the Red Cross. The body has not been identified, but this one and the remaining 15 hostages and captives were all men. They included civilians, soldiers and police.

During a meeting with the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese yesterday, Mr Trump said that Hamas is “going to behave” or face severe repercussions. “They’re going to be nice, and if they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them,” the president said. “Hamas has been very violent, but they don’t have the backing of Iran any more. They don’t have the backing of really anybody any more. They have to be good, and if they’re not good, they’ll be eradicated.”

Israel killed 45 and injured 158 in the past 24 hours, Gaza's authorities say, with 97 people in the strip killed since Mr Trump's ceasefire came into effect just over a week ago. The Israeli military said it fired at “terrorists” who crossed an invisible “yellow line” in Rafah on Sunday, which marked a withdrawal point for Israeli troops, who still occupy 53 per cent of the Gaza Strip.