U.S. urges Hamas to cease fire in Gaza

The U.S. military’s top commander in the Middle East called on Hamas to stop its violence against civilians in Gaza and disarm "without delay".

"We strongly urge Hamas to immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza - in both Hamas-held parts of Gaza and those secured by the IDF behind the Yellow Line," head of the U.S. military's CENTCOM, Commander Brad Cooper said.

He asked the militant group to fully stand down, "strictly" adhere to U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, and put down its weapons without delay.

"We have conveyed our concerns to the mediators who agreed to work with us to enforce the peace and protect innocent Gaza civilians," Cooper said.

When it came to Hamas’ refusal to disarm - a key demand in Trump’s peace plan - the president warned that force will be used if necessary.

“They’re going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them," Trump said.