At the gathering in Washington on Thursday, attended by top officials from more than 20 countries, promises of reconstruction and a “bright future” for Gaza were coupled with blunt US warnings that the alternative to disarmament would be a return to war.

Outside the meeting, Israeli officials reinforced that message, setting out a 60-day timetable for Hamas to disarm and reiterating that no rebuilding would begin before demilitarisation – conditions that observers said could put Gaza back on a path to open conflict.

But “if they don’t, it’ll be, you know, they’ll be harshly met,” he added, while also saying the group deserved “credit” for locating and returning all the bodies of Israeli captives in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that there was no alternative to Trump’s plan for Gaza.