US President Donald Trump has doubled down on the Gaza ceasefire, saying that ‘nothing will jeopardise’ the truce in place on Wednesday. The US president's remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered ‘immediate, powerful’ strikes on Gaza.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the US president stated that Israel had a right to respond to the alleged violations by Hamas, further warning the Palestinian militant group of “termination”.
"As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier," Trump told reporters. "So the Israelis hit back, and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back," he added.
"Nothing is going to jeopardise" the ceasefire, Trump said. "You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave."
'If Hamas does not behave, they will be terminated,' he added further.
Trump's remarks also echo the sentiment shared by US vice president JD Vance, who stated that the ceasefire is “holding” despite several deaths in the war-torn strip due to Israeli strikes.
Also Read: Israel to resume ceasefire, after retaliatory strikes on Hamas
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 20
After Netanyahu's order, the Israeli military carried out fresh strikes across Gaza overnight. As per local reports, at least 20 people have been killed due to these fresh attacks.
In response to the Israeli strikes, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, accused Tel Aviv of violating the truce and said it would postpone the planned handover of the body of a missing captive, reported in international media.
In a statement, the Hamas-affiliated group also warned that any Israeli escalation “will hinder search, digging, and retrieval operations of the bodies, which will lead to a delay in recovering the bodies” of the remaining 13 captives in Gaza.
Also Read: Hamas returns body of 12th deceased hostage after Trump’s demand
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