Israel announces that it resumes the truce in the Gaza Strip, after a night in which it killed dozens of Palestinians / Trump justifies the new attacks
Palestinians in Gaza. Credit line: APAImages / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Israel announced on Wednesday that it was resuming the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after attacking “dozens of targets” in the enclave, strikes it said were in response to Hamas' repeated violations of the agreement, Reuters reports.
Israeli jets launched strikes in Gaza on Tuesday, killing dozens of people, after Israel accused the Hamas group of truce violations, the latest violence under the three-week deal negotiated by Trump.
This new violent episode took place after the killing of an Israeli soldier, on Tuesday morning, in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army announced that it would continue to respect the ceasefire agreement and respond firmly to “any violation”.
“After a series of attacks during which dozens of terrorist targets and terrorists were hit,” the army “resumed the application of the truce following its violation by Hamas,” the Israeli army announced on the 10th.
Trump: “The Israelis retaliated”
Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least 70 people, including five in a house hit in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood and five in a car in Khan Younis.
US President Donald Trump said the US-backed ceasefire was not in danger, even as Israeli jets bombed Gaza.
“My understanding is that they killed an Israeli soldier,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So the Israelis retaliated and they should have retaliated. When that happens, they should retaliate,” the US president added.
The Israeli army confirmed the soldier's death on Wednesday.
“Nothing is going to jeopardize the truce. You have to understand that Hamas is a very small part of the peace in the Middle East and they have to behave accordingly,” Trump said.
An Israeli military official said Hamas violated the truce by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces stationed in the so-called “yellow line”, the line of deployment agreed in the truce.
The agreement entered into force on October 10, ending a two-year war sparked by Hamas' deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“If they (Hamas) are good, they will be happy, and if they are not good, they will be eliminated, their lives will be ended,” Trump said.
“No one knows what happened to the Israeli soldier, but they say he was shot by a sniper. It was retaliation for that, and I think they have the right to do that,” Trump said.
Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, southern Gaza, and said in a statement it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement.
