US Senator urges Trump to “unleash Israel” if Hamas remains armed

• US Senator Lindsey Graham urged President Trump to "unleash" ‘Israel’ to destroy Hamas if the group fails to disarm within a strict timeframe, saying that they are currently consolidating power despite the ceasefire.
• Graham advocated for joint US-‘Israeli’ military operations against Hezbollah should they refuse to surrender their weapons and firmly rejected Turkey’s inclusion in any international stabilization force for Gaza.

US Senator Lindsey Graham called on Sunday for renewed military action against Hamas and Hezbollah if they fail to disarm and said the Palestinian group is consolidating its power in Gaza.

The Republican politician, on a visit to ‘Israel’, is a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump.

Beginning in October, a fragile ceasefire has so far halted two years of ‘Israeli’ assault.

A separate ceasefire between ‘Israel’ and Lebanon's Hezbollah also came into effect in November 2024 after more than a year of hostilities, though ‘Israel’ continues to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory.

‘Israel’ has made dismantling the arsenals of both groups, allies of its arch-foe Iran, a key condition for any lasting peace.

"It's imperative we come up with a plan quickly, put Hamas on a time clock, give them a period of time to achieve the goal of disarmament," Graham said at a press conference during his visit.

"And if you don't, I would encourage President Trump to unleash Israel to go finish off Hamas."

"It's a long, brutal war, but you cannot be successful anywhere in the region until you deliver in dealing Hamas out of the future of Gaza and disarming them," Graham added, insisting that the second stage of the truce would fail if Hamas remains armed.

"Ninety days after the ceasefire, they are consolidating power in Gaza," Graham said.

He also called for military engagement against Hezbollah if it too does not surrender its weapons.

"If Hezbollah refuses to give up their heavy weapons, down the road we should engage in military operations working with Lebanon, Israel and the United States, where we fly with Israel... to take Hezbollah out," Graham said.

Opposition to Turkey

The Lebanese government has begun to disarm Hezbollah, starting in the country's south, and insists it will complete the plan.

‘Israel’, however, has questioned the effectiveness of the Lebanese military, and Hezbollah itself has repeatedly refused to lay down its weapons.

Graham's remarks came a day after mediators the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey urged both sides in Gaza to uphold the ceasefire.

The mediators are pressing for the implementation of the second phase of the truce, which would involve an ‘Israeli’ withdrawal from Gaza, the deployment of an international stabilisation force and the establishment of an interim authority to govern the territory in place of Hamas.

The second phase of the Gaza truce also envisages the demilitarisation of the territory, including the disarmament of Hamas.

Graham backed ‘Israel's’ opposition to Turkey being included in the stabilisation force, saying it would "rock Israel to its core".

"There is no political support anywhere in Israel for having Turkey being involved in the stabilising force," he said.

Hamas, meanwhile, has called on the mediators and Washington to stop ‘Israeli’ violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.

On Sunday, ‘Israeli’ artillery shelling was reported in several parts of Gaza's southern area of Khan Yunis, according to the civil defence agency.

On Friday, six people, including two children, were killed in an ‘Israeli’ bombing of a school serving as a shelter for displaced people, according to the agency.