US President Donald Trump affirmed that Hamas must disarm as part of Phase II of the ceasefire in Gaza in an interview with Israeli Axios reporter Barak Ravid on Monday.
"Now we need to disarm Hamas, as they promised," Trump emphasized.
Trump praised the terror group for working "very hard" to return the remains of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, whose remains were located and returned to Israel earlier on Monday.
"They worked very hard to get the body back. They were working with Israel on it. You can imagine how hard it was," he said, describing the search.
The identification process and search for Gvili's remains were "very difficult," he noted.
Netanyahu was 'thrilled' by news of Gvili's return, Trump says
He also clarified that he was informed by his administration's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner that Gvili's remains had been located, before speaking to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was "thrilled."
"This is bigger than people realize. Apart from the Gvili family and people in Israel, no one believed that we would bring back all the hostages. It was a big moment. Please tell the parents that I am very happy," he added.