Trump threatens to ‘kill’ Hamas over Gaza civilian executions

On Tuesday, the US leader had indicated that Hamas had been given "approval for a period of time" to act as a police force, but he later called on the group to stop attacks against "innocent Palestinian civilians".

When asked by CNN whether his remark that "we" will "go in" opened the prospect of American boots on the ground, he clarified: "Somebody will go in. It’s not going to be us.

"We won’t have to enter. There are people very nearby that will go in, they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices."

He did not specify who the “people” he referenced were, though the US is working closely with Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the planned peace deal.

It comes after US officials confirmed that Washington was recruiting Palestinians, both in Gaza and from the diaspora, to participate in the proposed interim government of the Strip.

Under the US-backed peace plan, territory is expected to be run by a technocratic administration under President Trump's proposed peace plan, which is currently under consideration by mediators.

This would be overseen by a "Board of Peace", led by the president himself and made up of prominent international figures.

During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Trump’s team said it was already examining candidates for the administration.

"There’s a lot of incredibly successful Palestinians in the diaspora who really want to see the suffering of their people end, and they’ve been reaching out to try to be a part of [the technocratic government]," said one official.

"It’s the first time that they believe that there could be a new alternative created that’s not the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas, that could finally be a leadership that allows the Palestinian people to break free of the poor situations they’ve been in, which has mostly been inflicted by poor leadership and bad decisions.

"It could be very successful if you get the right leaders who are doing it for the right reasons and trying to create a new system, compared to the old patronage and corrupt systems that have failed."