President Donald Trump said Sunday night that the ceasefire was still in place after Israel launched strikes in Gaza after accusing Hamas of opening fire on its soldiers over the weekend.
Israel attacked parts of Gaza on Sunday after accusing Hamas terrorists of killing two Israel Defense Forces soldiers operating in Rafah. Despite the back-and-forth, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the ceasefire was still in place.
“We’re going to have to see what’s happening. We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas and as you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious,” he said. “They’ve been doing some shooting and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that. You know, some rebels within, but either way, it’s going to be handled properly. It’s going to be handled toughly but properly.”
Later on, when asked by a reporter if he believed the Israeli strikes were justified, Trump said that he would “have to get back to you on that.”
The IDF said Sunday that terrorists launched anti-tank missiles and gunfire at its troops working to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure” in southern Gaza.
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“In response, the IDF has begun striking in the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity,” the IDF said. “These terrorist actions constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, and the IDF will respond firmly.”
The IDF later said that these strikes were directed toward weapons storage facilities, firing posts, terrorist cells, and terror infrastructure. It also took out about six kilometers of “underground terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said.
Vice President JD Vance, who is expected to travel to Israel on Tuesday, said Sunday that there were still a lot of moving parts on the ground in Gaza that complicated the ceasefire.
“We don’t actually know even what the reality on the ground is there. When we talk about Hamas, you’re talking about 40 different cells. It’s disjointed. Some of those cells will probably honor the ceasefire. Many of those cells, as we saw some evidence of today, will not. Before we actually can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed that’s going to require, as we know, some of these Gulf Arab states, to get forces in there to actually apply some law and order and some security keeping on the ground.”
Vance also said that the ceasefire would likely include “fits and starts” because members of Hamas would fire on Israel, and Israel would have to respond.
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