Just hours after visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he does not believe Hamas is disarming, several months into the Gaza ceasefire with Israel.
During an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Senator Graham, who joined the US Sunday show from a studio in Tel Aviv, implied that Hamas was doing everything in its power to prevent the ceasefire from reaching the much-discussed “stage two”.
“Hamas is not disarming, they're rearming, they're not abandoning power, instead they're consolidating power,” he said. Senator Graham then said that he regretted that there was “nobody coming over the horizon” to disarm Hamas.
He added that he wants President Donald Trump to come up with a plan with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a forthcoming visit to the US to put Hamas on a deadline.
“If they don't turn over their weapons and stop rearming, at a date certain, I would unleash Israel on them,” he told NBC host and reporter Kristen Welker.
Senator Graham's comments came after US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Miami to discuss Gaza.
“In our discussions regarding phase two, we emphasised enabling a governing body in Gaza under a unified Gazan authority to protect civilians and maintain public order,” he posted on X. “Further consultations will continue in the coming weeks to advance the implementation of phase two,” Mr Witkoff added.
Israel's campaign in Gaza – which followed the 2023 attacks by Hamas-led fighters that resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages – has killed more than 70,000 people and injured more than 171,000.
Also during his appearance on Meet the Press, Senator Graham was asked about an NBC News report that said Israeli officials believe Iran is expanding its ballistic missile programme and reconstituting nuclear enrichment sites.
“We obliterated their nuclear facilities but we did not obliterate their desire to have a bomb,” the South Carolina Senator said, referring to US strikes on Iran in June. Senator Graham declined, however, to directly answer say if he thinks more US strikes in Iran are necessary as a result.
“I'm going to let the Israelis talk to President Trump about it,” he explained, adding that he firmly believes Iran is trying to rebuild its ballistic missile systems, with the aim of overwhelming Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system.
In the weeks ahead, Mr Netanyahu is expected to meet President Trump in the US for talks on advancing the Gaza ceasefire plan. It will be his fifth visit to the country since Mr Trump returned to office in January, and the first since the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect in October.
Mr Netanyahu had previously said he expected the second phase of the Gaza peace plan to begin soon. Phase two is supposed to focus on a Gaza peacekeeping force and a governing committee, as well as reconstruction in the enclave.
