US President Donald Trump has informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that on January 15, 2026, he will unveil his "day after" plan for Gaza, including the creation of an international oversight body he will likely head.
Trump declared at the meeting that the civilian governing entity will be formed in the coming weeks and will prepare to assume control from Hamas. According to diplomatic officials, Netanyahu raised no objections to the US president's statements. The Israeli delegation maintains these are pronouncements lacking immediate practical consequences on the ground. Another diplomatic official emphasized the matter was framed not as a proposal but as a presidential decree Netanyahu was powerless to challenge.
During a press conference Monday night alongside Netanyahu, Trump declared, "We discussed Hamas and disarmament, they'll receive a brief window to disarm, we'll monitor how that unfolds. Trump's Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will oversee this from our end. Should they fail to disarm as they pledged, there will be hell to pay, we're not seeking that outcome, but they must disarm within a comparatively short timeframe."
"If they don't disarm as, as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then there will be hell to pay for them...horrible for them horrible going to be really really bad for them and I don't want that to happen but they made an agreement that they were going to disarm and you couldn't blame Israel. By the way we have other countries that will come in and do it they said 'Let us do it for you if they don't.' Countries that were with them, wanted the deal to be made agreed that they would disarm and now if they say they're going to disarm that's fine if they say they're not going to disarm those same countries will go and wipe them out, they don't even need Israel."
Which countries Trump referenced when discussing troop deployment to disarm Hamas remains ambiguous. Trump cautioned the terrorist organization possesses minimal time to surrender its arsenal as promised. He emphasized numerous nations stand ready to dispatch forces to Gaza, noting several possess the capacity to disarm Hamas.
He suggested Turkey or Pakistan, two radical Islamic states whose military footprint on Israel's southern frontier Israel could never accommodate.
During Monday night's press conference, the American president again invoked Turkish participation in Gaza's future governance. " I know President Erdogan very well and as you all know he's a very good friend of mine and I believe that and I do respect him and Bibi respects him, they're not going to have a problem. We know him very well and you've seen me do things with President Erdogan and Turkey that nobody else could have done. He's done a fantastic job, I'm with him all the way I'm with Bibi all the way; nothing's going to happen."
Addressing emigration from Gaza, Trump remarked, "half of Gaza would leave. I've always said it I said if they were given the opportunity to live in a better climate they would move they're there because they sort of have to be a great opportunity but let's see if that opportunity presents itself. We're helping the people of Gaza a lot so is Israel by the way so we'll see what happens but I saw that there was a poll it was actually more than half the people would leave if they were given the opportunity and I've been saying that for a long time it was to me it was common sense."
