Hamas agrees to halt executions following Trump’s “swift and brutal” warning

Hamas has told mediators it will halt public executions of Gaza residents accused of collaborating with Israel, after warnings from Washington and other capitals that internal violence could imperil a fragile ceasefire, US and regional officials said on October 22.

The reported pledge followed international condemnation of a string of public killings carried out by gunmen in Gaza hours after a truce between Israel and Hamas took effect, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Mediators warned that such actions could provide Israel with a pretext to resume military operations, and said they had pressed Hamas to stop summary punishments while the deal is in force.

US President Donald Trump, who helped broker the ceasefire earlier this month, issued stark warnings targeting the group. He said Hamas would face a “swift and brutal” end if it violated the agreement, and his administration has repeatedly cautioned that continued unrest could prompt direct or allied military responses.

Trump initially appeared to downplay the executions, saying Hamas had “taken care of some gang members” and that “it doesn’t bother me.” Within days, however, he adopted a harder line, telling reporters at the White House: “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, and if not, we’re going to eradicate them if we have to. 

In addition, Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to go in. I could tell them, ‘Go in and take care of it.’ But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance.”

Trump added that he believed a deadly attack on Israeli Defence Forces personnel in Gaza — which Israel blamed on Hamas and answered with airstrikes before reinstating the truce — was probably not ordered by the movement’s central leadership.

“I don’t believe it was the leadership, but they have some rebellion in there among themselves,” he said. “If they keep doing it, then we’re going to straighten it out, and it’ll happen very quickly and pretty violently.”

The White House said several regional governments had offered to contribute forces to a proposed international stabilisation mission in Gaza, an idea set out in Trump’s 20-point plan, but many prospective contributors remain hesitant. 

Diplomatic officials cited concerns that troops could be drawn into confrontation with Hamas in Gaza’s densely populated urban areas and tunnel networks, and some countries want clearer objectives before committing soldiers.

Trump said some partners had told Washington they would welcome a US entry into Gaza “with heavy force to straighten out Hamas if it continues to act badly.” He added: “I told those countries, and Israel, ‘not yet,’ because there’s still hope Hamas will do the right thing. But if not — Hamas’s end will be fast, furious and brutal.” 

He reiterated the administration’s desire to preserve the ceasefire: “We’re going to give it a little chance,” he said. “But if they don’t behave nicely, they will be destroyed.”

Hamas sources, meanwhile, told regional press that recent Israeli strikes had killed several senior field commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and said the group feared Israel might pursue a campaign analogous to operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Gaza officials said Hamas has redeployed forces across the Strip to reassert control after weeks of fighting.

For now, the ceasefire remains precarious. Diplomats and mediators said they welcome Hamas’s reported commitment to end public executions but warned that any renewed rocket fire, targeted killings or internal bloodletting could rapidly unravel the truce and draw the region back towards open conflict.

By Aghakazim Guliyev