ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that several American allies in the Middle East have "with great enthusiasm" expressed their willingness to enter Gaza "with a heavy force and straighten out Hamas" if the militant group violates the ceasefire.

"Numerous of our now great allies in the Middle East … have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into Gaza with a heavy force and straighten out Hamas if Hamas continues to act badly," Trump said in his post.

"I told these countries, and Israel, ‘NOT YET.’ There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right," the US president continued. "If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!"

He added his thanks to "the great and powerful country of Indonesia" and its leader for supporting the peace process.

Trump's comments come after intense Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Sunday that, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, entailed the dropping of 153 tons of ordnance, amid growing tension over the fragile US-brokered ceasefire.

The US-backed Gaza peace plan

In late September, President Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan for Gaza that outlined the release of all Israeli hostages, a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the disarmament of Hamas under international supervision.

The agreement, guaranteed by the United States, Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt, was signed during an October summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

However, the ceasefire has shown signs of collapse. On Sunday, Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the agreement.

Escalation in Rafah

The Israeli military said two of its soldiers were killed in Rafah on Sunday when Hamas fighters attacked in violation of the ceasefire. In response, Israel launched what it called a "massive and extensive wave" of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military statement said, "terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on our forces operating to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area … Forces responded with airstrikes by fighter jets and artillery fire."

Hamas, however, denied involvement, asserting that its fighters had no contact with any Palestinian militants in Rafah, which remains under Israeli control.

The US State Department had previously alleged that Hamas was planning an attack on civilians in Gaza, a move it called a "grave violation of the ceasefire," and urged mediating nations to ensure the group honored its commitments under the US-backed peace deal.

Hamas condemned what it described as the US’s "repetition of the occupation’s misleading narrative," urging Washington to "curb [Israel’s] repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement."

The group accused Israeli security forces of arming criminal gangs responsible for chaos in Gaza, saying its police were working "with broad popular and community support" to restore order.

Multiple media reports have shed light on Israeli-backed anti-Hamas militias operating in the Strip.

Sky News verified footage of a Gaza militia convoy moving supplies from the direction of an Israeli military base or the Israeli border to an abandoned school serving as the headquarters of the People’s Army militant group, led by Ashraf al-Mansi, who recently warned Hamas to stay out of his territory.

Sky News says this group is one of four anti-Hamas militias active in areas of Gaza still under Israeli control and has verified separate footage of gun battles and public executions in Gaza City as Hamas tries to reassert authority by cracking down on such factions.

Two weeks earlier, Sky News reported that Israel has been facilitating weapons, vehicles, cash, and food to the most powerful of these groups, Yasser Abu Shabab’s Popular Forces in southern Gaza.

Palestinian witnesses also told AFP on Sunday that clashes broke out in Rafah—an area still held by Israel—between Hamas and an Israeli-backed local gang known as Abu Shabab.