WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was still in effect after the Israeli military carried out deadly strikes on Gaza over apparent truce violations by the Palestinian armed group.
“Yeah, it is,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if the ceasefire was still in place. He also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches and instead blamed “some rebels within.”
“But either way, it’s going to be handled properly. It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly,” Trump added.
Israel said it had resumed enforcing the Gaza ceasefire after it struck Hamas positions Sunday, having accused the group of targeting its troops in the most serious violence since the nine-day-old truce began.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 45 people had been killed across the territory in Israeli strikes. Israel’s military said it was looking into the reports of casualties.
Trump expressed hope that the ceasefire he helped broker would hold.
“We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas,” he said.
“As you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious. They’ve been doing some shooting, and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that.”
Shortly before Trump’s comments, his vice president, JD Vance, downplayed the renewed violence in Gaza, telling reporters there would be “fits and starts” in the truce.
“Hamas is going to fire on Israel. Israel is going to have to respond,” he said.
“So we think that it has the best chance for a sustainable peace. But even if it does that, it’s going to have hills and valleys, and we’re going to have to monitor the situation.”
The truce in the Palestinian territory, which took effect on October 10, halted more than two years of devastating war that has seen Israel kill tens of thousands and reduce much of Gaza to rubble, after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and was proposed alongside an ambitious roadmap for Gaza’s future. But it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation.
Vance called on Gulf Arab countries to establish a “security infrastructure” in order to ensure that Hamas is disarmed, a key part of the peace deal.
“The Gulf Arab states, our allies, don’t have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm that Hamas is disarmed,” he said.
Vance said that a member of the Trump administration was “certainly” going to visit Israel “in the next few days” to monitor the situation.
He did not confirm who that would be, but said “it might be me.”