President Donald Trump is suggesting he could call on Israel to release imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader, as the United States aims to fill a leadership vacuum in postwar Gaza.

The group still commands thousands of fighters, but the war has taken a toll on its weapons supplies, and its political future is uncertain.

Eyal Zamir added that the return of the remains of the 13 hostages still held in Gaza "must be a prerequisite before moving to the next phase. ” The IDF considers the disarmament of Hamas a necessary condition for moving to the next stage of the US-brokered Gaza deal,

Hamas has deployed hundreds of police and clashed with armed groups in Gaza in what the militant group says is an attempt to restore law and order in areas where Israeli troops have withdrawn for the U.

Israel has accused Hamas of attacking Israeli forces in southern Gaza with the military carrying out airstrikes in the city of Rafah, the first major test of the US-brokered ceasefire.

Trump said on Monday that the US would destroy Hamas if the militant group didn’t continue to honor the ceasefire with Israel.

The U.S. State Department says it has “credible reports” that Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Vice President JD Vance said that he's confident in "durable" peace amid the ceasefire, warning Hamas will be "obliterated" if it doesn't cooperate.

An Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory is halted "until further notice," the first major test of the ceasefire.