President Trump said after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday that Hamas must disarm soon or "there will be hell to pay." He said the next phase of the Gaza peace plan could move forward quickly if Hamas disarms. 

Standing alongside Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Mr. Trump also claimed dozens of other countries that supported the peace deal are ready to "wipe out" the terrorist group if Hamas doesn't disarm, but he did not name any of them. 

The president said of Hamas, "They're going to be given a very short period of time to disarm." Standing alongside Netanyahu, Mr. Trump added, "And we'll see how that works out. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be in charge of that, from our side. But if they don't disarm, as they agreed to do — they agreed to it — then there will be hell to pay for them. And we don't want that. We're not looking for that. But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time." 

"We have 59 countries that signed on, big countries, countries that are outside of the Middle East as you know the Middle East," the president added. "They want to go in and wipe out Hamas. They don't want Israel, they don't need Israel; they want to do it because it's the right thing to do. Because they were for the deal, based on the fact that Hamas pledged, they swore, that they were going to disarm. Now, if they're not going to disarm, those same countries will wipe out Hamas." 

Mr. Trump said he and Netanyahu still don't agree completely on the West Bank. 

Netanyahu said he had a "very, very productive meeting" with the president, and he thanked him for his partnership. He told reporters Mr. Trump would receive the Israel Prize, the most prestigious award in Israel, for his work on the peace negotiations. 

"We've never awarded it to a non-Israeli," Netanyahu told reporters. "And we're going to award it this year to President Trump." 

Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Trump said the second phase of the peace plan could begin "as quickly as we can," but "there has to be a disarmament" of Hamas.

The first phase of the peace plan called for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the return of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid. 

But the second phase — which entails the terrorist group's disarmament, the effective end of Hamas' rule and its replacement by a transitional governance entity — has not yet been implemented. Hamas has refused to disarm and has not yet returned all Israeli hostage remains, while Israel has recently conducted some strikes in Gaza. The family of Israeli Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and whose remains have not yet been returned, was at Mar-a-Lago Monday.

Mr. Trump also said ahead of the meeting that he would support an Israeli attack on Iran, should Iran begin again to build up its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. The president praised Netanyahu, telling reporters "he's a wartime prime minister who's a hero." And the president said he has spoken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog about a pardon for Netanyahu, who is facing bribery and fraud charges. 

"How do you not give a pardon, you know?" Mr. Trump said. "I think it's a very hard thing not to do it. ... He tells me it's on its way." 

Herzog's office, however, said in a statement, "There has not been a conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted." The statement also said that Herzog spoke several weeks ago with a representative of Mr. Trump who had "inquired about the U.S. President's letter" and who was told "any decision on the matter will be made in accordance with the established procedures."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Netanyahu ahead of Mr. Trump's meeting. Netanyahu's visit comes a week after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, met with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to discuss next steps in the peace plan. 

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into effect in November, more than two years after the war began with the attack by Hamas-led terrorists on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. 

This was the sixth meeting between Mr. Trump and Netanyahu since the president took office in January. 

Netanyahu's visit came on the heels of Mr. Trump's meeting Sunday at Mar-a-Lago with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the U.S. president continues to try to to broker a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. After that meeting, Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy said they're nearly in agreement on a peace plan for Ukraine, and the Ukrainian leader praised what he called "strong security guarantees" from the U.S. But Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Mr. Trump spoke before and after his meeting with Zelenskyy, hasn't shown a willingness to compromise on his territorial demands. Russia attacked Kyiv shortly before Mr. Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy. 

Mr. Trump has been spending the holidays at his Mar-a-Lago estate, mixing in golf with meetings with world leaders. The president will return to the White House after New Year's Day. 

Sara Cook and Michal Ben-Gal contributed to this report.