Trump assured reporters that “nothing will threaten the ceasefire in Gaza,” explaining that “the Israelis responded after one of their soldiers was killed, and they had to do so. When such an attack occurs, there must be a response.”
Israel and Hamas exchanged accusations of responsibility for violating the ceasefire.
On Tuesday evening, the Israeli occupation army killed 18 Palestinians and wounded others in a series of raids targeting different areas of the Gaza Strip, in new violations of the ceasefire agreement.
According to medical sources and eyewitnesses, the Israeli raids targeted homes, a civilian car, a shelter, and a hospital, all within what is called the "yellow line".
This line is the first withdrawal line stipulated in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 10.
The “yellow line” separates the areas where the occupying army is still present on its eastern side from those where Palestinians are allowed to move within it on its western side.
Earlier, the official Hebrew broadcasting authority claimed that "unidentified gunmen fired anti-tank missiles and sniper fire" at Israeli soldiers in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas, in a statement, denied any connection to the shooting in Rafah, and affirmed its commitment to the ceasefire agreement, stating that the Israeli bombing was a blatant violation of the agreement and "confirms the insistence on violating the terms of the agreement and attempting to thwart it."
On October 10, Hamas and Israel reached a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, and sponsored by US President Donald Trump, as part of a multi-stage plan.
From that date until Tuesday, before the evening raids, Israel committed 125 violations of the agreement, resulting in the martyrdom of 94 Palestinians, the injury of 344 others, and the arrest of 21, according to the government media office in Gaza.
The Israeli war of extermination, with American support, since October 8, 2023, has left 68,531 Palestinian martyrs and 170,402 wounded, most of them children and women, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about $70 billion.
