Trump says US approved Hamas policing move ‘to stop problems’

President Trump on Monday arrived in Israel, with live footage showing Air Force One landing at the Ben Gurion airport. A video shared on social media showing the US president's interaction with journalists before his departure shows Trump responding to questions about "Hamas rearming itself as a police force".

"They’re doing it because they want to stop the problems, and they have been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time," Trump said. 

"You have to understand, they lost probably 60,000 people, that's a lot of retribution. The ones who are living right now were, in many cases, very young when all this started," he added. 

"We asked them to monitor the situation to ensure there won’t be major crimes or issues in such circumstances. We want the situation to be safe," he said. 

Trump's brief visit to Israel includes an address to the Knesset, before departing for Egypt, where he will co-chair an international summit aimed at ending the war in Gaza.