CENTCOM Enters The Chat With Warning to Hamas; Trump Escalates

Hmmm. Maybe Donald Trump meant “we” more literally than I first thought. 

As noted earlier, Hamas has decided to finish its war with Israel by shifting their attacks to the Gazans. After the IDF pulled back in the first phase of Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, Hamas rushed out of its bunkers to assert its power over the territory. The clans have responded with armed clashes, but it has not slowed down the executions Hamas is conducting against its enemies. Warning: This contains NSFW violence:

🚨Hamas continues public execution of Palestinians in Gaza.

Over 50 people have been murdered in just the past 48 hours alone.

No Protest, Outrage by so called Palestinian lovers as its not done by Isreal❗️ pic.twitter.com/N2iON7JRKh

— Rakesh Kishore 🇮🇳 (@RakeshKishore_l) October 15, 2025

This is hardly the only video of street executions going viral on social media. Presumably, Hamas wants these images to get out, as they still have tight control over connectivity in these areas. It’s gotten bad enough that the Palestinian Authority has publicly condemned the violence:

The office of the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the summary executions as “heinous crimes” that have no justification and reflect Hamas’s insistence on ruling through force and terror.

It also urged that these violations must be stopped immediately, and said “the restoration of law and the legitimate institutions of the Palestinian people in Gaza is the only way to end the state of chaos and rebuild national trust.”

The killings also triggered a rebuke from a Palestinian human rights group.

The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), a body established by the Palestinian Authority in 1993, issued a statement demanding an “end to extrajudicial and arbitrary executions in the Gaza Strip.”

Initially, Trump’s plan allowed Hamas to exercise policing authority while the transition to a pan-Arab technocratic government took place after Hamas’ disarmament. That was the only practical arrangement in the short term, but Hamas is using that as a means to kill off its rivals and further strengthen its position. That is why Trump asserted later yesterday that Hamas will either disarm or be disarmed. 

As I wrote earlier, the easiest way to enforce that is to declare Hamas in abrogation of the agreement and let the IDF take care of it directly. However, shortly afterward, the commander of US Central Command issued a throat-clearing implication of direct American action in response to the violence Hamas is wreaking in the streets of Gaza City:

Statement from Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander: pic.twitter.com/9nhijzThvb

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 15, 2025

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper called on Hamas to “immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” in a statement on Wednesday.

“This is a historic opportunity for peace. Hamas should seize it by fully standing down, strictly adhering to President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, and disarming without delay,” the statement said, adding that CENTCOM had conveyed concern to the mediators.

At least some of the message is getting through to Hamas through “mediators.” They are suddenly finding more of the hostages’ remains to fulfill their Phase 1 obligations:

The remains of seven hostages have been released as part of the ongoing Gaza deal, as well as the body of an unidentified person whom Hamas insists is an IDF soldier.

The Qatari Al-Arabi channel reports that Hamas will hand over tonight to Israel the bodies of 5 hostages.

That’s still not enough to get out of Phase 1. When Hamas cooperates and returns the remains of all hostages, then Phase 2 negotiations can start, but that is where Hamas is required to verifiably disarm. They are clearly not going to even pretend to comply, and as Paul Mirengoff writes, even the pan-Arab states won’t send in their promised troops while Hamas remains armed. That leaves two options, and one’s already in the field:

Yesterday, Trump said that if Hamas doesn’t disarm “we will disarm them.” Sorry, but I can’t imagine Trump sending American troops into Gaza to take on Hamas.

There is only one military that is both willing and able to disarm Hamas by force. That military is the IDF.

Therefore, implementation of Trump’s peace plan depends on the IDF returning to the parts of Gaza from which it has withdrawn, taking on Hamas, and policing these areas while Trump attempts to create his peacekeeping force. (Whether such a force can be cobbled together while Israel fights Hamas is a fair question.)

It turns out, then, that Trump cannot have both his ceasefire and the rest of his peace plan. Fulfillment of his plan, or anything close to it, requires giving Israel the green light to start fighting again (or on Israel fighting again without that green light). Will this harsh reality be enough to induce Trump to give the green light?

This is exactly correct, right down to the final question. Paul remains skeptical, but Trump is certainly sending strong signals about it. Having CENTCOM issue a statement in this situation escalates this significantly. The Israelis are already skeptical about Hamas’ intentions, and it won’t take much for Trump to encourage them to finish the job in Gaza City. Since CENTCOM has its forward base in Qatar, Trump clearly intends on impressing the Qataris about their position as well as Hamas’ in this situation. 

Aaaaand just in case no one can take a hint, Trump escalated the messaging this afternoon:

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would consider allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas refuses to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal, telling CNN that Israeli forces could return to the streets “as soon as I say the word.”

“What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly,” the president said in a brief telephone call.

Will Trump follow through? Right now, he and the IDF have all of the leverage needed to conclude the war on the battlefield. They just have to make sure Hamas and its Billionaire Boys Club in Doha recognize the existential crisis they are creating — in both places. I’d bet that the Qataris, at least, are getting the same vibes as Trump sent out in June regarding Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

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