US President Donald Trump has advocated taking a “hard stance” on Gaza, the Palestinian enclave for which he has proposed a US takeover and where a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is in place, Reuters reports.

Trump had said this week that Hamas should release all Israeli hostages in Gaza by midday today or “let hell break out”.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 o’clock. If it was up to me, I would take a very hard stance but I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do,” Trump told reporters.

Trump on Friday reiterated his concerns about the appearances of released Israeli hostages without commenting on the state of the Palestinians.