Trump says Hamas security forces deploying in Gaza with his 'approval'

US President Donald Trump said he gave the "approval" for Hamas fighters to deploy throughout Gaza, in order to prevent a security vacuum.

Hours after the ceasefire went into effect on Friday, armed Hamas members could be seen moving freely in Khan Younis and other parts of the enclave.

Videos seen by Middle East Eye showed Palestinians cheering as they passed.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his trip to Israel and Egypt to mark his ceasefire agreement, the US president said that he believed Hamas wants "to stop the problems".

"And they've been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time," Trump said. "We are having them watch that there's not going to be big crime or some of the problems that you have when you have areas like this that have been literally demolished," he added.

His comments, which appeared to contradict Israel's stated war objective of destroying Hamas, came hours before Trump gave a historic speech at Israel's Knesset, where he framed the ceasefire as an Israeli victory.

Trump went on to say that "the forces of chaos that have plagued the region are totally defeated", adding that Israel could now refocus on expanding normalisation agreements.

"The enemies of all civilisation are in retreat," he said.

Trump also said that the "long and painful nightmare is finally over" for both Israelis and Palestinians.

"This is a very exciting time for Israel and the Middle East," he added.

Sharm el-Sheikh summit

The second leg of Trump’s visit to the Middle East started later on Monday when he touched down in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, to co-host a Gaza Peace Summit alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Egypt's foreign ministry said that during the "historic" gathering, a "document ending the war in the Gaza Strip" is set to be signed.

Many of the aspects of Trump’s 20-point "peace" plan have yet to be fleshed out in detail, including who will take part in an Internal Stabilization Force that is earmarked to provide security in Gaza.

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Trump is expected to oversee Gaza as chairman of a so-called Board of Peace. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was mooted as a participant, but on his flight to Israel Trump appeared to distance himself from Blair.

"I've always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he's an acceptable choice to everybody," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, world leaders are expected to discuss the governance of Gaza, the extent of Israeli troop withdrawal, and the disarming of Hamas.

Trump’s plan calls for Jordan and Egypt to play a role in training Palestinian police forces to deploy to Gaza.

Egypt has also been discussing potential steps for the disarmament of Hamas that would see the group's offensive weapons being handed over to the international force, rather than be destroyed.

Trump’s plan also leaves open space for an amnesty for Hamas members in Gaza.

Despite this, Trump appeared to signal that Hamas could play a role in providing security in Gaza for at least some time, noting the scale of destruction in the enclave.

"You know, you have two million people - and probably it’ll be less than that - but you have close to two million people going back to build buildings that have been demolished. And a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be safe," he said.