Gaza latest: If Hamas doesn’t disarm we will disarm them – ‘perhaps violently’, Trump warns
Donald Trump has told Hamas it must disarm under his Gaza plan. Meanwhile, Israel says the Rafah crossing into Gaza will stay shut over the group’s failure to return the remains of all 28 dead hostages. Listen to the Trump 100 podcast as you scroll.
Perhaps Hamas is witholding 24 deceased Israeli hostage bodies.
Or
Perhaps those bodies need to be dug out from under the rubble of a destroyed Gaza and that would take special machinery and skilled operators….so far no sign of them.
Or
Perhaps other non Hamas gang members are concealing the bodies but only Hamas is being blamed.
25 June 2025
Israel is arming gangs to fracture Gaza’s society from the inside
It is part of a strategy to spread chaos, make Gaza ungovernable, and continue starving the population.Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on 22 June 2025.
Armed criminal gangs have been unleashed on the Gaza Strip by Israeli policy. On 5 June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly confirmed that Israel is arming these criminal factions and clans, admitting something us in Gaza already knew to be true. The goal? To reduce the number of casualties among Israeli soldiers – and to further fracture Palestinian society from the inside.
The results have been catastrophic. The presence of these gangs, many of whose members were imprisoned before this war for crimes against their own people, has added a new and terrifying layer to our suffering. We are no longer only afraid of the sky – but also of our neighbours, of the people walking among us. We don’t just fear hunger or bombs anymore. We fear betrayal.
A lot of attention has focused on Yasser Abu Shabab and his men, who Israel has armed to control territory in Rafah, in southern Gaza. But there are armed gangs everywhere now, controlling access to aid, even inside Gaza City.
The presence of these criminals among us has made us fearful of one another. My father has cautioned me to treat everyone around me like they are going to try to steal from me or are approaching to hurt me. My parents live in fear when I go out to report – not just because of Israeli bombs and bullets – but now also because of these gangs. As the looting has escalated, especially at the aid entry points, my parents told me to stop going out altogether, and I think they are right
Israel to open Rafah crossing in U-turn after Hamas returns more bodies – reports
Israel has reportedly decided to reverse its decision on keeping the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed today.
According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Israel has now decided to open the crossing and allow the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Yesterday, Israeli officials said the crossing would remain closed and aid flow into Gaza would be reduced after Hamas failed to hand over the bodies of all the dead hostages.
Four more bodies were handed over last night, meaning 20 others are yet to be returned.
A Middle Eastern diplomat has told The Times of Israel that Hamas has informed mediators it will transfer another four bodies later today.
At last, aid can return to the Palestinians via the Rafah crossing, but will we see it provided to those in desperate need?
And why is it still unsafe for aid to be properly distributed?
Oct 18th, 2025
Sky News reports more evidence of Israeli support for anti Hamas gangs:
Donald Trump insisted to reporters on Air Force One last night that the ceasefire in Gaza was still in effect, despite yesterday’s deadly strikes in the enclave.
The Israeli military said it struck Hamas targets across the enclave after an earlier attack killed two of its soldiers. The strikes killed at least 26 people, according to local residents and health authorities.
Trump said Hamas leadership may not be involved in the alleged violations that brought about yesterday’s violence.
“We think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that,” Trump said. “Either way… it’s going to be handled toughly but properly.”
Trump said he did not know whether the Israeli strikes were justified. “I’d have to get back to you on that,” he said.
“We’re going to have to see what’s happening. We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas.”
The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza says Israel has killed 97 Palestinians and violated the ceasefire agreement 80 times since it began.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
borderslynn 